In Darkness, Light
by Techku
Summary: Set one year after Spyro and Cynder defeat Malefor and must find new allies to defeat a new threat. Will they be able to stop it or will the world plunge into darkness once again. Rated M for blood, violence, language, and adult themes later on. SpyXCyn
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story, I've had this idea in my head for some time now, so tell me how you like it and how I should improve. I plan on making this into a series so any advice at all would be appreciated.**

**A little side note Ignitus is still alive and not the Chronicler for those of you who played the game. Also if you haven't read I do not use names of people I know. I do not own Spyro or any other characters however I do own Owen, Jasmine, and Nexus.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: The awakening**

It has been one year since Spyro and Cynder have defeated the Dark Master Malifor and the land started to heal itself from the destruction brought upon it.

Spyro and Cynder have now reached the age of fifteen and are the sole protectors of the land that now has found a state of peace. But like all things this cannot last, for when Spyro used his powers to stop the worlds destruction the ancient seals that kept the connections between the magic realm closed from other worlds has now been broken. One world in particular has a stronger connection with the magic realm than any other, Earth, and on this planet an ancient evil was sealed from the magic realm when Earth was nothing more than a primitive world with no hope of life. But now the bonds have been broken, the evil has been awakened, and there is only one thing he wants. Revenge on the realm and any of those still alive that sealed him away.

"Where am I? It doesn't matter the only thing that does is that I'm free and the ones who sealed me will pay." the ancient evil said walking away from his seal, "I swear that they will fall by my hand, by the hand of Nexus!" , then a sphere of dark energy surrounded Nexus and exploded in every direction destroying the tomb that once sealed him. "Now to find out were the hell I am and how to get back to the magic realm."

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In the magic realm the dragon elders are all gathered in the vision pool room, Ignitus looking into the vision pool.

"What do you see Ignitus?" asked Terador looking at Ignitus.

"Yes yes do tell us the anticipation is killing me." Cyril said tapping his tail impatiently.

"I am afraid that it is beyond my understanding. I have never seen anything like this before." Ignitus said with a grim look on his face.

"Well lets start with you telling us what you've seen then we will formulate a hypothesis based on the information that you have provided." Volteer said at an unbelievably fast rate.

"I see, the dead moving, walking, marching to the temple. They are lead by a shady figure with piercing red eyes, he seems to be suspended by some sort of dark magic. They are at the temple now, they are trying to get in, all goes dark." Ignitus saying in a hypnotic tone.

All the elders have grim looks on there faces now. "Do, do you see anything else?" asked Terador urgently, there was a pause.

"No, just darkness. Wait," then Cyril, Volteer, and Terador all look up at Ignitus, "I see a light, it is cutting though the darkness. There is something in the light, it looks like a human wait maybe an elf. The dead are turning away and the leader is wailing in pain, he's dead. The figure is walking to me he's saying something, 'Find me, find me.' " Ignitus pauses and looks up to see the other elders, but he does not, just light surrounded by darkness.

"You can stop with that now Ignitus, they can't hear you." the figure says obviously a teenage males voice.

Ignitus a little startled says, "You mean you can see and hear me?"

"Yes now listen closely find me and the girl and train them but careful for one will escape but will return." the figure says stepping closer to Ignitus.

"How and where will I find you?" said Ignitus trying to get a look at the figures face but couldn't because he had a hood that covered it. All Ignitus could make out was his mouth.

The figure smiled, "You will not find me in this realm, you find me in another, on a planet called Earth."

Ignitus's eyes widened, "That's impossible the magic realm has been sealed for eons how could it be broken and what do you mean by one will escape?"

"My time is growing short with you now. I realize you have questions but all will become clear soon enough. In the mean time find me and the girl, you will find us in Harrisville, Michigan." the figure started to turn to leave.

Ignitus paused and thought about what he just heard then saw the figure starting to leave and said, "Wait. Your name, what is your name and the girls."

The figure turns and pulls back his hood to reveal a sixteen or so face with dark blond hair and green eyes, "I have many names but you will know me as Owen and the girl is Jasmine." Owen turns again and continues walking then stops, "I almost forgot you'll need this." Owen then tosses a book to Ignitus who then catches it with his right arm. "Be careful it's a long fall down." Owen smiles then starts walking away again waving his hand and says, "See you soon, sooner than you think and don't talk about what transpired hear with me until you think I'm ready. Tell the other elders that to." Owen then fades and leaves Ignitus in the dark.

Ignitus then looks around and says, "Now how to I get back." no sooner said, the ground gave way from underneath him sending him plummeting to the void below. Ignitus then instinctively opens up his wings to fly but finds that they are immovable. "This is not good." Ignitus then sees the temple below him coming up fast and crashes into the vision pool room and lands on his body with the elders around him. He then jolts up and finds himself on the ground with the elders around him.

"Ignitus are you alright?" asked Terador with the same concerned face as the other two elders, "You passed out while telling us about the figure in the light."

Just then Spyro and Cynder come in with great haste Cynder saying, "We got the medicine you wanted Volteer."

"I apologize but I don't think we will be needing the remedies that I requested from you two earlier." said Volteer gesturing to the now conscious Ignitus.

Spyro's face instantly brightened followed by a cheerful, "Ignitus your alright." the purple dragon moved closer, "We were worried that something terrible happened to…" Spyro paused looking at the book at Ignitus's feet that was not there when he and Cynder left to get medicine. "Ignitus where did you get that book?"

Ignitus then picked up the book, it read "Portal Conjuring", "I think it would make more sense if I told you what happened while I was unconscious." Ignitus then told everyone what happened but made it sound like he saw events happen rather than a conversation, _I will explain to the other elders what really happened but I think it is better that Spyro and Cynder don't know what really happened, _Ignitus thought. "That is what happened, now its late and you two," looking at Spyro and Cynder, "have to go to bed, its late and we may need you two for opening the portal."

Spyro and Cynder realizing how late it was, both said, "Alright, night." then they both started going to their rooms.

Cynder then asked, "Spyro, do you really think that there is a new threat arising?"

"I don't know but from what Ignitus said this Owen or whoever he is sounds strong and might be a powerful ally to have." said Spyro deep in thought, _A new threat to the land, and just when I thought it was over…will it ever be over._

"You are probably right besides, it will be good to have another girl around the temple." she smiled then went to her room.

Spyro smiled back and said, "Good night." and went to his room. In his room he found Sparx asleep on a branch growing though the wall and then went to his nest and thought to himself, _Another girl around the temple, and not just that another guy. I wonder what they will be like and what their world is like. _He then shortly fell asleep after that.

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Back in the vision pool room Ignitus was explaining what really happened and why he kept the truth from Spyro and Cynder.

"Do you really think that Spyro and Cynder will get involved Ignitus?" asked Terador.

"I have no doubt that they will get involved but that is not why I kept the truth from them. The reason I kept it from them is because there is a high possibility that they will become friends with Owen and Jasmine and I don't want to risk Owen finding about this before he is ready." said Ignitus almost ashamed that he did what he did.

"I think its for the best." said Volteer now reading the book Ignitus received from Owen, "In the mean time we should get this portal open, I will study the contents of this book." Volteer sounded troubled while reading the book.

"Is there something wrong old chap?" asked Cyril.

"No there is nothing wrong it is just that it looks that the previous owner of this book left some notes, look." the elders looked on the page it was open to, the notes on it read "Earth" circling coordinates with arrows pointing to "Earth" it was the same thing with "Michigan" and "Harrisville" with different coordinates for each and a in bold "MAKE SURE TO OPEN THE PORTAL EXACTLY WHEN THE SUN IS DIRECTLLY OVER THE TEMPLE TOMORROW, yes this is a message to the elders Ignitus, Cyril, Volteer, and Terador not someone else. From, Owen P.S. Do not show me this book until after you tell me about your vision Ignitus."

"What do you think Ignitus it just seems to convent." said Terador.

"Yes it does but if this boy really is our only hope we have to go with it. We should all get some rest now, at least tomorrow will be exciting." said Ignitus in a sarcastic tone.

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On Earth Nexus made his way into a city trying to find some way to get back to the magic realm or a least to find one of those who sealed him. Everywhere he went everyone stared at him, he then stopped at a pool of water and looked into it. He saw himself, he was a tall man about 6' 5" in his late twenties with pail skin, red eyes, a well built body, and black hair that went to his shoulders. _I haven't aged a day, _he thought in his mind. He then walked up to a man and asked in a menacing tone, "Where the hell am I and were are those who imprisoned me!"

The man stared at him blankly and said, "Señor yo no le puedo comprender yo sólo hablo español." (Sir I can't understand you I only speak Spanish)

Enraged Nexus Picked up the man with one hand into the air exclaiming, "You better tell me or it will be your life." Nexus then held his free hand out and his skin began to crawl by his palm and a sword made from bone extended and he held it in his hand and up to the mans chest. People started to scream and running when the bone sword came from Nexus's hand. "you have to three to tell me, one."

The man now held in the air mouth open and eyes wide said, "Por favor, no señor yo no quiero morir." (Please no sir I don't want to die.)

"Two" slowly pushing the sword into the mans body without braking the skin.

The man now crying, "Por favor no me mates tengo una esposa e hijos." (Please don't kill me I have a wife and kids.)

"Tree times up." Nexus stabs the sword trough the mans chest and out the other side, the man dies a few seconds later. He let the man slide off his sword and onto the ground, he then waved his hand over the dead mans body ignoring the screaming and shouting people around him, "Now lets try this again where am I and where are the ones who imprisoned me." Nexus said in a calm tone.

The dead mans eyes slowly opened showing only white eyeballs and got up. "You are in Mexico on Planet Earth and the ones who have imprisoned you are not hear." the man said in the language of the dead.

"Earth, you have served your purpose now be gone." Nexus waved his hand again towards the undead man and the man collapsed gasping, a few seconds latter and died again. "Now to get out of this place and back to the magic realm." Nexus turned and summoned his dark energy flying into the air and propelled himself northeast, to the only place that could get him back to the magic realm.

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**Thank you for reading this, please review and let me know if you liked it and how I can improve. I will be working on the next chapter soon after I see peoples responses. See Ya.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all of those who read and reviewed chapter 1, you guys rock. This chapter may be a bit confusing because the time in the magic realm and Earth are not parallel. If you get lost on the time change between the realms look on my writers description, it will have my notes on the time change.**

**I do not own any Spyro characters but do own Owen, Jasmine, Nexus, Sally, Steve, Evan, and Frances, or at least these versions.**

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**Chapter 2: The portal**

It was a Friday morning in Fall, on Earth, and Owen was lying in his bed, dreaming. In his dream he was on a battle field caught smack dab in the middle of a war. He saw himself, Jasmine, and others who he did not recognize charging at the other army. Above there were dragons flying towards the army launching their breaths from their maw. As soon as the two armies met at the center where Owen stood observing, he crossed his arms over his face bracing for the impact between the two forces. Then all would stop, Owen saw himself in mid swing, mouth open in a battle cry. Two figures then stepped out of nowhere and approached him, one in a black robe and one in a white.

The figure in white spoke first in a gentle female voice, "Remember what you see here before you for it is your destiny to be where you see yourself now. To lead these people in battle against the forces of darkness."

Next the figure in black spoke in a deep male voice, "Your fate at the end of the battle will be decided on the choices you make in the present and the near future. In one you die in the other you live, choose carefully."

The two figures then moved backwards fading as they go, "Wait!" yelled Owen with his arm out in front of him. Nobody responded, then the armies that were frozen suddenly sprang to life and collided in the center in battle crushing Owen.

Owen then shot up in bed with an, "Ahh!" and realized that he was in his room, his clock timer going off. _It has been almost one week straight that I have had that dream, _he thought to himself as he got out of bed. Owen then got dressed in his usual wear, blue jean cargo pants, a t-shirt, and a grey long sleeved over shirt. As he left his room he grabbed his wallet and glasses and headed into the living room stopping by the kitchen for some toast. Owen is not a strong guy and he is skinny, but not skin and bone skinny, that is why people at school find him an easy target. In the living room he found his younger sister, Sally, watching the news like she always does before school. Sally was 11, only four years younger than Owen. She was shorter than her big brother, had brown hair that she always wore in a pony, and brown eyes that, when she wanted to, could get her anything she wanted.

Then the newsman on the TV said, "Officials are trying to track down terrorist who was first seen in Saltillo, Mexico and are trying to see if there is any connection with him and the disturbance in the Aztec ruins." the TV changes to the weather.

"I wonder if they will catch him" Sally said looking up at her big brother.

Owen looked back at her, "I don't know Sal but he can't run forever eventually someone will stop him." he then turned his attention to the TV that changed to the "Breaking news" screen.

Reporter, "The terrorist has been sighted in London heading east from there, I now turn over my report to London reporter, Emily, take it away."

Emily standing in the streets of London, "The terrorist has been spotted near the Eiffel Tower and is slaughtering everyone in sight." Nexus appears hovering in the background, the camera starts to shake.

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In London Nexus is flying overhead, "Cower before me pesky mortals!" an orb of dark energy forms in his hand and hurls it at two people on the ground destroying them.

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Back in Owen's house Owen and Sal's mouths are open, speechless. The American reporter, "I… I'm afraid we just lost Emily." there is an eerie silence.

"…Big brother? Who will stop him if nobody can?" Sally asked eyes wide.

"I…I don't know, but…" Owen was deep in thought after he saw the terrorist shoot the sphere of energy at the reporter, remembering his dream, _Am…am I the one who is suppose to stop him?_

"But what big brother?" Sally still eyes wide looking at Owen.

Owen looked at his sister for a long time then said, "But he won't he won't hurt you, I promises."

Sally then said, "Pinky swear?" holding out her pinky

"Pinky swear." Owen smiled and pinky swore with his sister.

From another room their mom said, "Owen! Sally! Evans hear to pick you up."

"OK mom tell him to wait a bit, I have to get my things for school!"

"OK honey."

Owen then went to his room and got his backpack and a big cardboard box with a bunch of stuff in it. As he got outside he heard Evan shout, "Hurry up or we'll be late!"

"Shut up Evan and get the door." Owen said a bit annoyed. Evan was a tall Junior in High School with short brown hair and brown eyes, he was one grade ahead of Owen in school and one year older.

"What is all this crap anyways?" Asked Evan helping Owen get his things in his car.

"You should know, its for that family heritage thing that Mrs. Allan makes us do" Owen said climbing into the front seat and Sally in the back next to the box.

"Oh, I didn't have to do that because of having my tonsils removed. So what did your ancestors do anyway?" Evan asked turning right out of the driveway.

Owen saying a little embarrassed, "Well you'll probably won't believe me but my family use to part of the Order of the Dragon, they were a group of knights."

"No I believe you, its just that its hard to believe. So you stopping at Steve's house after school?" Evan now turning down on the road to Harrisville Public School.

"Um, ya latter but first I have to drop off some books I got from the towns library I used for the heritage thing. Don't wait up for me." now in the parking lot.

Evan was getting out of his car and said, "Alright just be sure you get there in one peace." chuckling a little but.

"Ya, sure, whatever, see ya." said Owen heading into the school building.

"Hi Owen, is that stuff for the family heritage assignment?" asked Jasmine greeting Owen. Owen and Jasmine have been friends since childhood, she was a little shorter than Owen, had long black hair that went a little past her shoulders, and blue eyes. In Owen's eyes she was most beautiful girl in school.

"Yup, it wasn't easy but I got the principal to let me bring in my old families sword, not that it could hurt anyone seeing that it all rusted." Owen said nodding to the sword in its leather sheath.

Jasmine looked at the sword, "Ya but you know a weapons is still a weapon even if it is rusted." the bell rang.

"Aw crap I'm going to be late. Hey Jas can you do me a big favor and take this down to Mrs. Allan's room, since your first class is across from her room."

"Well I suppose since I'm heading down there anyways." Jasmine said taking the box from Owen.

"Thank you so much I owe you one." Owen then ran down the hall not even stopping by his locker and went straight to first hour science in the opposite direction of Jas.

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In the magic realm the elders, Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx were outside preparing to open the portal. "So remind me again what we are doing?" asked Sparx in his cocky tone.

"How many time do I have to tell you Sparx we are trying to open a portal to Earth so we can get Owen and Jasmine here to prepare for the coming storm." Ignitus said more than a bit annoyed.

"Right, and why are they so important that we need to bring them here." ask Sparx now trying to get on someone's nerves, and it worked.

"Ahhh, for pitty sake Sparx can you just shut up!" Cynder exclaimed.

Getting what he wanted he said, "Oh and what is the queen of mean going to do cry on my?"

"Leave her alone Sparx." Spyro said as annoyed as everyone else, "If your not going to help be quiet or go away."

"Fine you just go open the portal with the duchess of destruction I'm out of here." Sparx then flew into a crack in the temple wall and left.

Spyro then turned his attention to Cynder, "Hey, you all right?"

Cynder a little teary eyed, "I don't know why he hates me so much."

"I'll have a talk with Sparx but that's kind of his way of showing he cares for someone." Spyro said which brightened Cynder a little.

"He still doesn't have to be so mean." Cynder said wiping away her tears.

"I know." Spyro and Cynder then gazed into each others eyes.

"Ahem, if you two are done don't we have a portal to open, it is almost time." Ignitus said pointing to the sun which is now nearly above the temple. Spyro and Cynder realizing the elders where watching the entire time blushed and turned away from each other.

"Alright Ignitus that should do it we just need to wait until it is time." said Terador walking away from a stone circle.

"Good lets hope it will work." Ignitus said looking up at the sky as the sun moves closer to its position.

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It was the last hour of the school day and Owen was about to present to the class his heritage assignment. "OK my family was part of an old order of knight called the Order of the Dragon." the class looked up towards Owen.

"Ya right, that half pint can't be part of a knight order, he can't even fight off a cold." Frances, the school thug, has been picking on Owen since the third grade and won't even let him have one moment of glory.

"That's enough Frances another word out of you and you will be sent to the principals office." Mrs. Allan said.

"Sure thing teach." Frances said

"Please continue." Mrs. Allan said.

"Alright, anyway…" Owen then went on to explain the orders purpose and showed the class their crest, a medallion, his family tree, and finally the sword. The sword was rusted but the markings on it still could be made out, it was a hand and a half, and there was an inscription on the hand guard. "Well that's all I have." Owen said turning to Mrs. Allan.

"That was very good, now before you all go running off, your reports on your family heritage is due on Monday." Mrs. Allan said and got an "aww" from the entire class. The bell rang, "We'll continue with the presentations on Monday."

Outside Owen was on his way to the library, he was cradling the sword and left the box at school because he didn't want to carry it around town, he also had some other family relics in his backpack that his parents wanted him to bring home and not to leave at school. He then heard from behind, "Hey Owen wait up!" Owen turns around to see Jas running towards him. "So where you heading?" Jas asked slowing her pace down to Owen's.

"To the library, I have to drop off some books. Where you heading?" Owen asked.

"I'm heading down to the post office to send some mail to relatives." Jas said pulling some letters out of her bag. "Your heritage presentation was really good, unlike Frances's, he can be a really big jerk sometime."

Nodding his head Owen said, "Ya I don't know what his problem is." looking up, "Well I'll be damned, speak of the devil." Frances and his gang were biking towards them.

"Well well look what we got here boys, a knight in shining armor and a stuck up princess." Frances said followed by his friends laughing.

"What do you want Frances?" Jas said unaffected by his insults for she has put up with this for years.

Frances and his friends stop laughing. Frances, with a grin on his face said, "Me oh nothing, I just came here for the sword." Frances then reached out and grabbed the sword from Owen.

"Hey give that back that belongs to my family!" Owen said enraged and terrified of what Frances would do with it.

"Oh ya and what are you going to do about it?" Frances said his face inches away from Owens. Just then an orb of dark energy exploded and blew everyone back. "Holy shit! Hear take the sword just don't hurt me." Frances then tossed the sword towards Owen who caught it and Frances and his gang biked away as fast as they could.

"What was that?" Owen said as he helped Jas up.

"I don't know but I'm glad it came when it did." Jas said a little relived.

"Get down!" Owen and Jas didn't have time to react as a hooded man tackled them to the ground, a second later another orb wizzed by just missing them by a few inches.

"Thanks man, I think. Who are you?" Owen asked getting up only to be forced back down.

"I said get down." the man was in a hooded cloak, just then three other cloaked figures rushed to his side, "Stay down until this is over, got that?" hooded man 1 asked and Owen and Jas nodded.

"How much longer until the portal opens?" hooded woman 1 asked.

"Just a few more minutes." hooded man 1 said.

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Back in London Nexus had left nothing but a path of destruction for what he was looking for was close. "Damn were the hell is it, it should be somewhere around…A ha! After days of searching I have found it." Nexus then lowered himself down to the ground and landed in front of a giant circle of stones. "Welcome to Stonehenge, so that is what it is called now of days." Nexus then walked into the center of Stonehenge and began reciting an ancient incantation.

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"Ignitus, its time." Volteer said pointing to the sun now directly over the temple.

"Alright then lets get started" Ignitus then started to read from the book as everyone waited in anticipation.

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As the smoke cleared a figure in a black robe appeared and said in a demonic voice, "Get out of my way you pests."

"Never!" hooded man 2 exclaimed.

"Fine if I can't have the boy I'll take the girl." the black hooded figure then disappeared and reappeared by Jas reaching out to her with a black scaly arm grabbing hold of her, Jas screamed. Just then hooded figure 1 pulled out a sword and swung at the black hooded figures arm who retracted it, but not before leaving four huge cuts on Jas's right arm, caused by the dark figures claws, and that made her wail in pain.

"Jas!" Owen yelled, "One of you has to help her!" just then the black robe man charged at Owen only to be stopped by hooded woman 2's sword. Owen was just about to thank her when he felt a tugging on the back of his shirt and saw that hooded man 1 picked him and Jas up as if they weighed nothing and threw them behind him.

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Nexus had just finished the incantation and a swirling back vortex appeared before him he laughed, "Now they will all pay." and he leapt into the portal, a portal to the magic realm.

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In the magic realm Ignitus had just finished reading from the book and a portal opened before them, "How long do we have to weight?" Cyril asked.

"I don't know, the book doesn't say that. I guess we just wait and hope for the best." Ignitus said closing the book.

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To Owen, as he flew though the air, everything seemed slow, _This can't be happening_, he thought over and over in his head. He looked were he was being thrown, he saw road behind him and he counted how long he was flying in the air, _1, 2, 3, 4, 5,_ just then he saw the area in front of him ripple and a hole opened in front of him, he yelled and passed through with Jas behind him, she was holding her arm. Looking where the hoods were he saw them move blindingly fast, but he still felt slow.

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In the magic realm the elders, Spyro, and Cynder were waiting anxiously. "Ignitus I don't think it wor…" Cyril about to say but was cut off by Spyro.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Spyro said, everyone quiet, listened and herd yelling, "It sounds like…" just then two figures flew out the portal and landed a few feet from the portal, then it closed. One of them was holding her arm, blood was coming from between her fingers.

As Owen landed on the ground he thought, _can't see, vision blurry, going to…, _just then he saw blurry figures pass over him, he couldn't make them out. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was Jas and if she would be alright.

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**That's the end of Chapter 2 I hoped you liked it. Please review and tell me how I can improve.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I own what I do and not what I don't. Here is Chapter 3.**

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**Chapter 3: Escape**

When Owen came to, he felt his head throbbing and his vision still blurry_. Oh great I've lost my glasses,_ he thought in his head and went to rub his eyes but were stopped by something, _What?_ Owen then realized that he had his glasses on the entire time and took them off, when he did every thing he saw was crystal clear, "This is impossible, there is no way I can see this clear." He said to himself as he observed his surroundings. He was lying in a stone room that had roots and vines growing out of the walls, on one end of the room was a door, on the other was a window, in one corner was a nest, and his family sword was braced up against a wall with his bag next to it. "How did I end up here?" he questioned himself and then remembered being tosses into a portal and passing out. He got up feeling really stiff and went to get his stuff, he motioned to the door but then heard voices on the other side, he moved closer to the door to listen in.

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On the other side of the door Sparx and Spyro were talking, "So why do we need these guys anyways?" asked Sparx sitting on a nearby branch.

"Oh come on Sparx you know why we need them, Ignitus told you more than any of us." said Spyro sitting next to the door.

"Ya but why, they are both unconscious and are just taking up space. If you ask me I say we dump them off somewhere until they wake up, then have them come here."

"You know Ignitus wouldn't allow that and he'd probably have your head if you tried it. Besides what is the big deal you do nothing anyways and you are doing nothing now, so why are you complaining?" asked Spyro.

"Doing nothing on your own time and doing nothing when you are told to are two different things." Sparx said really serious.

Spyro shaking his head said, "Forget I said anything."

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Owen on the other side of the door started to back away slowly. Owen mistaking the conversation entirely thought, _I didn't like that conversation…I have to find Jas and get out of here, but how? _He then went to the window and opened it, he looked down to see a hundred foot drop. _Its either this or staying here,_ Owen put his back pack over his shoulders then looked at the sword, _I guess I have to leave this here, it would be to much dead weight, _Owenlowered himself off the window and found a foot hold, _I hope those rock climbing courses pay off, _he started moving to the left following the foot holds, and trying to find Jas.

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Back outside the door Spyro asked a question to break the silence, "Hey Sparks?"

"What?" asked Sparx

"Cynder seemed really upset yesterday when you were making fun of her."

Spyro said.

"So, its not my problem if the evil incarnate gets upset." Sparx said really defensive.

"See that's what I mean, Sparx could you stop calling her names and try to be a little more nice to her?" said Spyro trying to get through to Sparx.

Sparx narrowed his eyes, "Why should I, she tried to kill us in the past."

"That wasn't her fault! Besides she helped me defeat Malefor, Sparx could you please try. If not for Cynder then for me." Spyro said giving Sparx a hard stare.

"Fine, but you owe me big." said Sparx a little displeased.

"Thanks." Spyro said thankful and then there was a pause, "I guess we should check if Owens up, it has been another hour." Spyro said getting up and opened the door, Spyro's heart stopped as he saw that nobody was inside and that the window was opened, "He's gone! Quick go see if you can find him I'll go tell the elders." Spyro rushed to the vision pool room and Sparx went out of the window. Spyro burst into the vision pool room and said, "Owens gone."

All the elders were in shock but Ignitus, "Do you know where he might have gone?" asked Ignitus.

"The window was open and I had Sparx go find him. Ignitus aren't you worried?" asked Spyro surprised that Ignitus was so calm.

"No but if he did go out the window there is a hundred foot drop to the bottom. Go get Cynder and see if you two can find him and bring him back." said Ignitus still calm.

"Got it." Spyro said and rushed off to find Cynder. Spyro found Cynder outside of her room and said hastily, "Owen is gone we have to find him."

Shocked she said "Alright then lets go." then both of them rushed off to find Owen.

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In Cynder's room Jas was in a corner in the fettle position crying, but not out of pain but out of fear. Just then she herd tapping on the window, she slowly moved and opened it, "Hello?" she asked, she jumped back and screamed as a head appeared.

"Shh! Its just me." Owen said climbing onto the windowsill.

Jas in amazement said, "How did you get hear, and where are your glasses?"

"Ok in order I climbed from a different room along the cliff wall and I don't need them because I can see clearly now." Owen said smiling, "Now come on we have to get out of here." Reaching his hand out to Jas.

"I can't." Jas said looking away.

"What of course you can just take my hand." Owen said reaching even farther now.

"No you don't understand, I can't feel my right arm." Jas started to cry holding a bandaged arm.

Owen said more firmly, "I won't leave you here."

"Owen, just go you can make it and I can't end of story." Jas now wiping away her tears.

"Jas I promise you on my life that I will come back for you." Owen said lowering himself on the window.

Jas said, "Alright, just be careful not to lose your life on the way down." she said, Owen smiled and descend down the cliff, she then closed the window and went back into the corner holding her arm.

__

Spyro and Cynder were flying overhead when Spyro said, "I talked to Sparx, he said he would stop making fun of you."

"Thanks Spyro, you have no idea what that means to me." Cynder said gratefully.

"No problem." Spyro said and grind at Cynder. A half an hour passed and still no sign of Owen anywhere, "We have been flying for a long time maybe we should head back to the temple." Said Spyro.

"I guess we should." Cynder said disappointingly. Then as they got closer to the temple they heard something, "Hey look down there." Cynder said pointing with on claw. At the bottom of the temples cliff was a figure whooping and jumping.

__

"Holy crap I can't believe I made it down in one piece!" Owen said at the bottom of the cliff jumping in joy. When he stopped he saw a purple and a black figure approaching in the distance, "Me and my big mouth." Owen said and dashed into the forest as fast as he could.

__

"Why is he running away?" Cynder asked.

"I don't know but we have to bring him back." Spyro said, "You follow him through the forest and I'll try and cut him off further down."

Cynder nodded and answered with a blunt, "OK" and darted down into the forest while Spyro sped over the forest trying to get in front of Owen.

__

In the forest Owen was running as fast as he could, making sure not to trip over a root or run into a tree, "I don't know what those things were and lets keep it that way." he said to himself. While he was running his right sleeve got caught on a branch and tore a good part of it off, "Ah damn it all." Owen said taking a quick look behind him, he saw a piece of his shirt on a branch and a black dragon gaining on him, "Shit!" he yelled and ran faster. Looking in front of him he saw a purple dragon some ways off, he looked for a way out but the forest was to dense, now looking up he saw a branch a few feet away, thinking quickly, _It works in the movies and its my only chance, _he reached up and grabbed the branch. His body swung forward then upward and did one full revolution around the branch.

__

Spyro was approaching and saw that Owen reached up for a branch, in his mind he asked, _What is he doing? _When Owen was horizontal with the branch he saw Cynder flying fast at him and they both screamed and smashed into each other while Owen finished his rotation and continued running.

Off in the distance they heard Owen yell, "Holy shit I can't believe that actually worked!"

Spyro and Cynder got up rubbing their heads then Spyro said, "Ow, you OK?"

Cynder said jokingly, "No I just flew into a thick headed dragon, other than that I'm just peachy."

"Ha ha vary funny." Spyro said sarcastically.

Cynder smiled, "At least we will be able to get him now, he is heading to the river and I doubt he is reckless or stupid enough to cross it."

"I guess, but we should catch up with him either way." Spyro said and flew after Owen with Cynder close behind.

__

Still running Owen had a smile on his face and said, "I think I lost them." as he got into a clearing he found himself standing next to a raging river about twenty or so feet across. "Hmm looks like I have to find another way around." He turned around and saw the two dragons emerge from the forest, he froze, "On second thought I'll risk the water." he then turned around and dashed for the river, "Lets hope you are three times lucky Owen." and jumped at the edge of the river with all his might.

__

Spyro got into the clearing and yelled, "Wait don't jump!" but it was to late Owen was above the river moving steadily forward. Owen landed on the other side of the river and stumbled a little then took off into the forest on the other side, "We have to go after him." Spyro said preparing to take flight.

Cynder stepped in front of him, "Spyro don't we are just making things worse."

Puzzled Spyro asked, "What do you mean?"

"He obviously feels scared otherwise he wouldn't scale down a cliff, avoid us by grabbing a branch causing us to collide, and jump a twenty foot river." Cynder said making her point, "Come on lets get back to the temple."

"OK I see your point." Spyro said a little disappointed and they both started to fly to the temple. Spyro looked back at the river and thought,_ I hope he'll be alright._

__

It was late and back in the temple Jas was in the corner thinking to herself,_ Owen please don't try anything reckless,_ Jas, of course, knew that Owen would do anything at home to avoid danger, but when it came to her he would do some pretty stupid things. Just then she herd the door open and she berried her head into her arms.

The voce she herd was gentle and wise, "Are you afraid?" the voice asked. The question startled her and she nodded her head in her arms, "Yes I would imagine you would be, but I just want to let you know that you are safe here and no harm will come to you." the voice was comforting not harsh or threatening in any way. Jas slowly looked up and saw a red dragon and she started to cry. "I'm sorry did I frighten you?" the red dragon asked.

Jas, startled by what she saw, whimpered, "Y…yes."

"You don't have dragons on your realm then do you?" the red dragon asked.

Jas, a little calmer, said, "No."

"Before you saw me did you think I was a dragon?" the red dragon asked, further questioning Jas.

Jas sat up and said, "No."

The red dragon chuckled and said, "I wouldn't imagine, but before you saw me you looked up confidently thinking to see something else and you saw me and became scared." the red dragon looked at her and Jas listened more intently, "Sometimes vision clouds our minds from what truly matters." Jas was pondering the dragons words. "My name is Ignitus and I am one of the four guardians." Ignitus said in a proud voice.

Jas was still pondering Ignitus's words and no longer was scared. Jas looked up at Ignitus and said, "Thanks Ignitus."

"Anything to help young elf, how is your arm?" Ignitus said with a smile.

"I can't move it but… wait hold on did you just call me an elf?" Jas asked a little shocked.

Ignitus said puzzled, "Yes in our world elves are graceful creatures with pointed ears and you and Owen fit the description, unless in your world you call yourself something else."

"Pointed ears!" Jas then reached up to feel her ear with her left hand and sure enough they had points.

"Is there something wrong?" Ignitus asked.

Jas said still feeling her ears, "I'm a human not an elf and neither is Owen, or anyone on our planet for that matter."

Ignitus deep in thought said, "Hmm you and Owens bodies must have gone through a transformation while you two were in the portal. Now you were saying how your arm was, something about not feeling it."

Jas still shocked from her discovery said, "Ya I can't feel anything in my right arm."

"Really and do you know why?" asked Ignitus walking away.

Jas, a little taken aback by the question, said, "Well I don't know, I mean look at it." showing her bandaged arm.

Ignitus stopped, "Interesting." Ignitus picked up a vase, tossed it at Jas and said, "Catch."

Jas quickly grabbed the vase and said, "What was that for?"

Ignitus smiled, "Remember what I said Jasmine, sometimes vision clouds our minds from what truly matters, look." he pointed at the vase.

Jas followed his gaze and to her astonishment she had caught the vase with her right arm, "But how?"

"You saw that your arm was wounded and thought that it was dead, but its just like I said." Ignitus walked to the door and turned to Jas, "Would you like me to show you the temple Jasmine?"

Jas was still for a long time and said, "No thank you, maybe later I have too much on my mind right now. Oh and call me Jas, Jasmine just sounds to formal."

Ignitus then opened the door and said, "Alright, Jas. If you need anything just ask Cynder, she should be here soon, and just not to startle you, yes she is a dragon to." Ignitus walked out and closed the door and meet Spyro and Cynder, "I'm guessing by Owens absence you did not find him."

Spyro said disappointingly, "No we lost him in the forest, I'm sorry Ignitus."

"He means were sorry." Cynder said then added to Spyro, "You got to stop blaming everything on yourself."

Ignitus not disappointed at all said, "Don't worry about it he'll come back." Spyro and Cynder both went to there rooms, Spyro found Sparx asleep on a branch and Owens sword by the window.

__

When Cynder entered her room she found Jas looking out the window, "Now you don't try and escaping now." Cynder said jokingly

Jas turned around to see a black dragoness, "You must be Cynder, Ignitus told me about you, and no I'm not. I'm just wondering were Owen is." Jas let out a sigh.

Cynder recognizing the look on Jas's face explained what happened and said, "We came back when we realized we were scaring him."

Jas gave a little laugh, "That idiot, he is going to get himself hurt."

__

Owen was still running and thought to himself, _Ok, NOW,_ _I think I lost them but I still need to find help,_ Owen was by a small stream and jumped on a rock to cross to the other side. The rock was slippery, he slipped and landed on his arm with a loud crack. Pain came from his right arm and he let out a cry, "Agh how can I be so freaking stupid." he said followed by a string of curses. He climbed out of the stream and collapsed on the bank. A few minutes later a man in cloak carrying a pack came across Owen and crouched down by him examining his broken arm.

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**I hoped you liked it, please review and tell me how I can improve.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own anything about Spyro but I do own everyone on my profile page.**

**----------**

**Chapter 4: Mentor**

Owen was in a dark room and his arm was pulsing with pain. Fighting the pain he walked further into the room and said, "Is anyone there?" he got no response, then the room filled with light. Owen could now see that he was in a huge stone room with runes of an ancient language on the walls, in the center was a pyramid like object with steps and a flat top, it towered above everything. The light was coming from the top of the pyramid but he couldn't make out what was making it, Owen then felt an uncontrollable urge to climb the structure despite the intense pain. "Is anyone there?" he asked again, but again got no response. Fighting the urge to scream out in pain he started to climb the pyramid. After a long and agonizing climb to the top he found that the source of the light was a ghostly white glow surrounding a pedestal. Owen approached the light and stopped when he felt his arm tingle, he looked at his arm and it no longer gave him pain. He walked closer to the light but the ground beneath him cracked and sent him falling.

__

At the temple morning was breaking and Cynder was in her room, "Do you want to come?" Cynder asked Jas, "Spyro and I are going to train today." Jas was looking out the window, Cynder walked up to her and said, "He'll be fine so stop worrying about it."

Jas looked down at her bandaged arm, "I suppose your right." Jas and Cynder then went to the training room where Ignitus was waiting.

Ignitus flipped a switch and the huge statute in the center of the room descended. Ignitus saw Cynder and Jas approaching and said to Jas, "Ah good to see you out today."

Jas said a little sad, "I'm really worried about Owen Ignitus. He can be really reckless sometimes."

Ignitus had understanding in his eyes, "I know, but he will come back. It may not be soon but he will, I give you my word."

Jas sighed and said, "Alright." and sat down off to the side.

Spyro and Sparx entered into the training room, "Morning Cynder." said Spyro.

"Morning." Cynder responded.

Spyro walked up to Cynder and noticed Jas behind her, "Is that Jasmine?" Spyro whispered to Cynder.

Cynder whispered back, "Ya but she likes being called Jas, I wouldn't go by her now she has to much on her mind now."

"Aright you two are you ready to begin?" asked Ignitus and they both nodded.

Jas was oblivious to everything around her, all she could think about was Owen's wellbeing.

__

Owen shot awake with his arm still tingling, _Now were am I?, _he thought to himself. He sat up on the cot he was laying on, he was in a small house, it had a small table with chares, a kitchen, and a hammock on the other side of the room with a dresser next to it. Owen got up, feeling like he slept for a week, and realized his arm was splinted. He found a basin of water and saw himself in the reflection, but something was different, his face was sharper, his ears were pointed, and he saw that he was muscular and fit. "Oh great I fell down the rabbit hole." he said to himself and walked around and found his backpack by the door and a cloak on a chair. "This looks familiar." he said, then he herd the door open behind him.

"Your awake, that's good, but you should be resting." a booming voice said behind Owen, it nearly made him jump. Owen turned around to see a tall man in his late twenties/early thirties with blond hair and beard, with pointed ears, and he was wearing a green tunic and brown pants.

"Who are you?" Owen asked, observing the man. The man had a basket of grain in his hand

"Oh terribly sorry, my name is Ace. I am ranger of this forest from the Order of the Dragon." Ace put the basket on the table and asked, "And who are you?"

Owen hesitated, "I am Owen and I don't think that I'm suppose to be here."

Ace looked at Owen and asked, "Why?" Owen then spent the next few minutes explaining everything that happened since he and Jas got thrown into the portal and why he escaped. "Well that's some story you got there, but you are not going anywhere until your arm heals up." Ace got up, "Speaking of which we have to change your bandages." and went to Owen and started to unbandage his arm.

"You mentioned something about being part of the Order of the Dragon?" Owen asked.

"Yes, I have been stationed here for almost two years now, why?" Ace asked removing the blood soaked bandage.

"My family use to be part of that order, but not anymore." Owen said disappointingly.

Ace sounded surprised, "Really, I never heard of our order outside the realm." Ace has now removed the bandage, "Strange."

"What?" Owen asked a little concerned.

"Your wound where the bone broke through is completely healed." Ace said. He now was pushing on Owens forearm and asked, "Does this hurt in any way?"

Owen immediately responded, "No, is it suppose to?"

Ace looked up, "I found you last night, you shouldn't be able to heal that fast. What are you?"

Owen thought for awhile for an answer, disturbed by what he herd, then said, "I'm determined to save Jas, that is what I am."

Ace stood up, "Well then if you are so determined, show me what you got."

"What?" Owen asked confused.

"Come." Ace beckoned and went outside, Owen followed. Outside there was chickens, a chicken coop, and a small garden surrounded by forest. "I want you to beat me, throw anything you've got at me." Ace took a defensive stance.

Owen looked at Ace and said, "Alright." and charged at Ace ready to punch him. The next thing that happened was so fast that Owen didn't know what happened, Ace had sidestepped, tripped Owen, and pushed his face into the ground. Owen then gave a little, "Ow."

"You need to do better if you want to save your friend." Ace said leting Owen up, "It is required of all members of the Order of the Dragon to be trained by the rangers, do you want me to teach you how to fight?" asked Ace.

"Fine but I'm technically not part of the order." Owen said dusting himself off.

"Do you have a seal with you?" asked Ace.

Owen said, "I think I do."

"Go get it." Ace said smiling. Owen went into the house and got his families medallion and handed it to Ace. Ace examined it and said, "This will do, now come at me again, this time like you mean it."

__

Spyro and Cynder were still in the training room fighting the dummies when Ignitus said, "OK you two that should be enough for today."

Spyro and Cynder both stopped and said, "Alright."

"Hey have you noticed that Jas hasn't move since we started?" Cynder asked Spyro.

Spyro glanced over to Jas and said, "Ya she must be really bummed out about Owen."

Cynder then whispered to Spyro, "Maybe she just needs some cheering up. Wish me luck." and Cynder went over to Jas.

Jas looked up and said, "Oh, is only you Cynder."

"Hi Jas, still thinking about Owen?" all Cynder got was a nod from Jas, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jas was staring at the ground, "I don't know, Owen can be so thick headed sometimes that he doesn't understand what is going. I miss him so much." Jas started to break down and cry.

Cynder sat next to Jas and said, "Oh come on now he will be alright. The only reason he escaped was so he could get help for you."

Jas sobbed a little then wiped away her tears, "I know but he is going to end up getting himself hurt."

"Come on lets get something to eat." Cynder said to Jas and they both went to the dinning hall.

__

Owen and Ace have been training all day and Owen was exhausted, "You learn fast." said Ace not even breaking a sweat.

Owen panting said, "Thanks." Owen and Ace have been in the house for awhile now, suddenly they heard barking outside and chickens clucking.

Ace shot up, "What the hell?" Ace ran outside and Owen followed. Outside was a grey wolf chasing the chickens, "Damn it!" the wolf was about to grab a chicken when Owen grabbed a stick and swatted at the wolf. "Careful, a hungry wolf is not something to take lightly." Ace said hastily.

Owen and the wolf stared at each other for awhile, the wolf growling and Owen examining the wolf. It was not fully grown and it looked like it hadn't eaten in days, Owen's eyes softened, "Wait here." he said to the wolf not expecting the wolf to understand, but the wolf held its place. Owen went into the hose, found some meat and came back out. He tossed the meat to the wolf and said, "Here, now get!" the wolf dove at the meat and devoured it quickly then turned its attention to Owen. The wolf ran up to Owen, jumped on him and started licking his face.

"In all my years as a ranger I have never seen anything like this." Ace said shaking his head.

Owen got up laughing, "Ok, your welcome, now go on." the wolf whimpered. "I'm sorry but you have to go."

"Not necessarily." Ace interrupted quickly, "Let me let you in on a little secret, when a wolf chooses someone as a friend they are not easy to get rid of. So if you want him to stay I'm ok with that."

"Are you serious?" Owen asked, the wolf licked his face.

"Yes, but just to let you know, he will be your responsibility. Also wolves are intelligent animals and need to be respected." Ace said walking over to Owen, "Now what are you going to call him?"

Owen thought for a long time, "Um I don't know, how about Boe?" he said to the wolf. The wolf barked.

"Boe is a good name. Just make sure he doesn't eat any of my chickens." said Ace seriously.

"Alright." said Owen happily.

__

One week has past and Ace taught Owen how to fight hand to hand, with a sword, a bow, how to track, and how to predict weather by wind and clouds. Owen had developed strong bond with Boe now and they went everywhere together. Jas has been thinking about Owen a lot but was able to train and do other things without that distracting her. Her arm has healed up but it left four, deep purple, scars across her arm, she tries not to think about it.

__

"Here." said Ace tossing a grey cloak to Owen.

Owen grabbed it, "Thanks but what is this for?"

Ace sighed throwing on his own cloak, "It's a ranger cloak, we are heading into town today and I thought you might want it."

"Thanks, but why." asked Owen.

"Well mainly to hide your cloths, you don't want people staring now do you?" Ace said pointing to Owen. Owens cloths had been torn, stained and ripped from training with Ace and from running in the forest. "Don't worry we will get you new cloths in town." Ace said and opened the door.

Owen put the cloak on then said to Boe, "Come on Boe lets go." Boe barked and followed Owen out the door.

__

Back in the temple the elders finished cleaning out a spare room previously used for storage. Jas has now moved into the room, her room was about the same size as Cynder's with a window facing the opposite direction and had a small bed. "It has been one week now. Oh Owen please be alright." Jas said to herself as she herd a knock on the door, "Come in."

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Ignitus asked.

"No your not, please come in." Jas said.

Ignitus entered Jas's room, "I just came to see if the room was to your liking."

"Its fine Ignitus thank you." Jas said still thinking about Owen.

Ignitus recognized the look on Jas's face and said, "Do not give up hope young one, he will return. Who knows he might be closer than you think." and Ignitus left the room.

__

Owen and Ace have been walking for awhile, "So why are we going to town?" asked Owen.

"I go to town every week to take the eggs in and hear what is new. I found you on my way back from town last week." Ace said looking forward, "Also I have to check in with some old friends."

There was a long silence then Owen asked, "How long is it to town?"

Ace pointed in front of him, "It is right over there." as they got closer Owen could see houses and people. "Here take these and go gets some cloths while I trade in the eggs. Meet me at the pub latter." Ace handed a little pouch of coins to Owen and headed off into the town.

Owen was walking in the town for awhile and found the cloths shop. He picked out a white muscle shirt and some blue pants. "what do you think?" he asked Boe and got his usual bark, Owen paid for them and shoved them into his bag. Owen wandered around town for awhile then decided to head to the pub. He entered the pub and Boe sat outside. Owen sat at the bar, "Hello welcome to Peat's Pub what can I get you?" a man from behind the bar asked him.

"Um nothing for me I'm just waiting for Ace." Owen said to the bartender. The bartender was a short stout man (human) and was thinning a bit.

"Ah, Ace, He is a good fella but has a nasty history. My names Peat

and this is my pub." Peat said cleaning out a glass.

Owen leaned in the counter, "What do you mean?"

Peat picked up another glass and started cleaning it, "You mean you don't know? He lost his wife and kid a couple years ago, just about the time he came here."

"No I didn't know." Owen said in shock. He had always wondered about his mentors past but didn't have any idea that it was so unforgiving, "My names Owen by the way."

"Nice to meet you Owen." Peat reached across the counter and shook Owen's hand. "If I know Ace you shouldn't be waiting long, he is very punctual." the door to the bar opened and Ace walked in, "See what I mean."

"Hi Peat, I take it you've meet my apprentice." Ace said gesturing to Owen.

"So the order finally gave you one huh?" Peat said jokingly.

"Nope he just came to me on his own free will. Technically he is not even part of the order." Ace said to Peat, "I'm sorry to cut this conversation short but I have to meet some old friends, Owen lets go." Ace and Owen then left the pub after saying their goodbyes.

__

Owen, Ace, and Boe were walking up a hill and came to a temple. Ace walked up to the front door and gave three hard knocks, the doors opened and a red dragon stepped out, "Hello Ace, it has been awhile."

Owens heart almost stopped and he tried to make a dash for it but Ace grabbed him by the back of his cloak and said, "Not so fast now." and started to drag him in the temple, Boe following calmly behind. "Hi Ignitus were is this Jas girl? This little hero said he is going to rescue her." said Ace having a hard time to on to Owen. Ignitus then lead the way to Jas's room and Ace threw him in the room and said, "Hey Jas I brought you something." and shut the door, Boe waiting outside.

Owen yelled getting up, "Two timing snake!"

From the other side of the side of the door Ace said, "Sticks and stones Owen, sticks and stones."

Jas tuned around and tears flew down her face, "Owen!" she screamed. Owen turned around and Jas ran up to him embracing him, "I thought I would never see you again." Jas said crying in Owen's chest.

Owen's face reddened but gave Jas a hug back and said, "Its ok, now come on lets get out of here."

Jas stopped crying and said, "Oh Owen you have been such a blind fool. There was never any danger at all."

Owen backed up a little, "What do you mean?"

Jas then explained everything that happened in the past week and said, "The dragons here said that they need us."

Owen then said suspiciously, "For what?"

Jas shook her head, "They wouldn't tell me, I don't think they know themselves. They just told me that this world hangs in the balance and they need us." she said looking at Owen.

Owen reluctantly said, "Alright Jas I'll help. But only because I'm bored." he said sarcastically at the end and Jas punched him gently on the shoulder. "I missed you Jas."

"And I missed you." said Jas leaning on Owen.

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**That concludes Chapter 4, Chapter 5 will continue from this spot. Please review and tell me how you liked it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I ****only own those on my profile page nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 5: Powers Surfacing**

Owen and Jas stood a long time together enjoying being reunited, but like all things it cannot last. Ace barged into the room and said, "Ok I herd enough, Owen I came to…I'm sorry am I interrupting something?"

Owen and Jas pulled apart blushing and Owen said, "Ace! Have you ever herd of knocking?"

Ace stood for awhile then said, "Well this is awkward, anyways I just came to tell you that you will be staying here for now on. Well not here in this room but at the temple."

"Wait a minute, what about training?" Owen asked shocked.

Ace quickly answered, "I thought that might come up, I don't live that far away, as you know, I can just run here for training then run back in the evenings." Owen was about to protest but Ace cut him off, "I'm probably the fastest ranger in the order, so don't even try and protest."

Boe entered the room and walked over to Owen, "Oh, you have a dog?" Jas said and bent down to pet him, "Hey boy." Boe's tail began to wag.

"Um, actually he is a wolf." Owen said bending down to scratching Boe behind the ears, Jas quickly withdrew, "No its ok he wont bite, will you Boe?" Boe barked and licked Owen's face, "See."

Ace started to back up, "I'll just leave you two alone to catch up."

Owen then told Jas his experience over the past week, leaving out the part of the light and the pyramid, "Well it seems that you had a more exciting time than me." Jas said sitting on her bed and clapped her hands together, "Well I have to go to the training room, come on." Jas then got up and grabbed Owen's had then felt a had tug.

Jas looked down to see why Owen had stopped, he was examining her scars, "Jas." was all Owen could say.

Jas looked up at Owen and said, "I know but I can live with it, it is not as bad as it looks. Now come on lets go." Jas turned and lead the way to the training room.

As they entered the training room Boe sat down by the door and Owen could see two dragons in front of the red dragon, Ignitus. He recognized them, they were the ones who chased him through the forest. The black dragon turned and said, "Hi Jas, you were almost late."

Jas said, "Sorry, I had to catch up with Owen." nodding to Owen following behind her.

Cynder then turned her attention to Owen and said, "Hi, you're the reason my head hurt for the last couple of days." and the laughed.

The purple dragon was now walking over and said, "Oh, ha ha Cynder." then said, "Hey Owen, my name is Spyro."

Owen stuttered a bit then said, "Um, hi." then looked up to see Ignitus walking over.

"Hello Owen, will you be joining us today?" Ignitus asked.

Owen then said, "I thought that Ace would be training me."

"Ace had to travel to the order to tell them what has transpired and will be gone for a few days." Ignitus said.

Owen said a little disappointingly, "Alright, I guess I'll join."

Ignitus was already walking away, "Great we needed a fourth person for sparing, but first lets warm up."

Suddenly dummies sprang from the floor and Owen jumped back in shock. He looked around to see that Spyro, Cynder, and Jas were already fighting the animated dummies. Owen hesitated and a dummy nearly blindsided him but he quickly avoided it and knee bashed its face in. Owen let the dummy drop to the ground and it disappeared. Owen smiled to himself then saw two dummies charging at and he ran for the wall and propelled himself up it and the two dummies crashed into the wall. He then pushed off the wall and accidentally landed on the dummy Spyro was fighting and said, "Opps sorry."

Spyro looked a little shocked that Owen just fell out of nowhere and said, "Its ok, Ignitus always said to treat training like a real fight."

All the dummies then disappeared and Ignitus said, "Ok that's enough for a warm up." then added, "You did well Owen, although your fighting is a bit unorthodox." Owen then gave a little chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "Alright then, Owen would you feel comfortable sparing with Spyro?"

Owen then said a little surprised, "Um, ok I guess."

Ignitus said, "Ok, oh and Spyro remember that it is melee only, we don't need you burning Owen now." that last comment did not make Owen to confident.

"Ok Ignitus." Spyro said moving to the center of the training room and Owen followed, "Whenever you are ready."

Owen tossed his cloak off to the side revealing his tattered cloths and said, "Alright then lets go." getting into a defensive stance. Spyro then charged at Owen and tackled him but got thrown off and nearly face planted but recovered. Spyro then jumped at Owen and clawed his arm leaving some deep cuts, Owen then recoiled in pain with an, "Ahh."

Spyro then asked, "Are you alright?" and pushed Owen's hand away from his arm to see three deep cuts with crimson blood pouring out. Spyro not meaning to hurt him said, "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to hurt you."

Owen gritting his teeth said, "Its fine." then, like dry ice in water, a white steam came off Owens cuts starting from the outside closing in revealing new uncared, un cut skin.

Spyro's eyes widened, "How did you do that?"

Owen was about to explain but Jas, Cynder and Ignitus came running over, "Owen are you alright?" Jas asked urgently.

Owen then said calmly, "I'm fine, there is nothing to see here." Owen gave Spyro a sign to keep quiet.

Ignitus then said, "I think that we should cut today's lesson short, you can have the rest of the day to yourselves." Ignitus walked away with a concerned look on his face.

Owen then gave a sigh of relief and asked, "So were am I sleeping?"

Spyro still was shocked by what he saw then said, "Ignitus said you would be staying in my room until they cleaned out the other spare room."

Owen then said as if nothing happened, "Alright then, I'm just going to wander around for awhile." and started to turn, Boe got up and started heading to Owen.

Spyro then asked, "Wait aren't you going to tell us what happened back there?"

Cynder then asked, "What are you talking about Spyro?"

Owen then turned around and said, "I think it would be easier if I explained." Owen paused and said, "Well I don't know what to say but I can heal really fast and by fast I mean fast."

Jas then took a step closer to Owen and asked, "How is that possible?"

Owen then scratched his head and said, "I don't know but the first time it happened was when Ace found me when I broke my arm, It was healed by morning." Owen looked at everyone's faces to see them speechless, "I didn't think about it at first but then I was in the woods with Ace and scraped my knee and what Spyro saw happened."

"And what did happen?" asked Cynder.

Owen paused thinking what to say next then said, "It would be easier to show you. Spyro I want you to cut my arm."

Everyone then said, "What?"

Owen sighed and said, "Just do it." Spyro then took one claw and cut Owen's arm who winched in pain, "It still hurts though." then the white steam rolled off Owen's cut and moved inward, everyone's was watching with unbelieving eyes. "Please don't tell anyone about this, Ace said the less who know the better." Owen said pleading them to agree.

"But then why did you show us?" Spyro asked.

Owen then said jokingly, "Because I didn't want you bugging me about it." and smiled then said, "No that's not why, but Spyro saw and I didn't want word spreading to Ignitus, I…I think he already knows."

__

The elders were in the vision pool room and Ignitus was explaining what happened, "I don't know what to make of it, one moment Owen was in pain and the next it was like he never got hurt at all." Ignitus said with a blank look on his face.

Terador then said, "Maybe he was faking it to get Spyro to let his guard down."

Ignitus shook his head saying, "No no I saw small drops of blood at his feet, he got hurt for sure."

The elders were still for a long time then Volteer spoke up, "Well maybe the boy is developing his abilities, or maybe he had the ability all along and he is keeping it hidden from us."

Cyril spoke next, "And why do you purpose that he would do that?"

"Who knows, but we have to assume that he is developing his abilities now." Ignitus said, "Although, we should inform Ace when he gets back. After all he is his mentor" and all the other elders agreed.

__

It was late afternoon and Spyro and Owen were heading to Spyro's room. When they entered Sparx said, "Hey Spyro you will never guess what happened, a guy came in here and put this thing up." Sparx was lying in a hammock with his eyes closed.

Spyro then said, "Um Sparx, I think that is for Owen."

Sparx made himself more comfortable, "Oh yea, what is he going to do about it?"

Owen walked over to the hammock and said, "Well for starters, I could sit on you."

Sparx opened up one eye, seeing Owen standing over him and said, "Oh, heh heh, I didn't see you there." Sparx then flew up and said, "Um, I kept it warm for you."

Spyro shook his head then said, "That's Sparx, it is best to try and ignore him."

Owen smiled and said, "Oh is that all, sure I can do that." Boe made himself comfortable next to the hammock and looked up at Owen. "Have you meet Boe Sparx?" Owen then asked.

Sparx said, "Um, no."

Owen's smile grew wider and said to Boe, "Ok Boe don't go and eat Sparx now, got that." Boe gave a small bark and Sparx gave a nervous laugh.

Spyro then said sarcastically, "Now that would be a disaster."

Sparx then said, "I'm sleeping on a higher branch from now on." Owen and Spyro laughed and Sparx flew higher in the room.

It was late at night and Owen was dreaming again. He was in the same stone room except he was on top of the pyramid, Owen took a few seconds to remember were he was. Straight in front of him was the same ominous glow and he took a few steps closer. He then stopped, knelt down, and knocked his hand on the ground were he fell last time, nothing happened. He shook his head and continued to walk forward, he was a few feet away from the pedestal when the glow started to flow around him. The light seemed to be melding into his body and the feeling of cold fire flew into him with the light. Owen took in the feeling of the light, savoring the feeling, the sensation stopped when he herd a scream, he blinked and found himself in Spyro's room on his hammock. "Did you hear that?" he asked Spyro who was waking up.

Spyro yawned and said, "Yea, what do you think it was?"

"I don't know but we should find out." Owen got out of bed stepping over Boe who then stood up, "What about him?" Owen asked pointing to Sparx.

Spyro said, "Leave him, it is for the best." Spyro and Owen, with Boe by his side, moved into the hallway to find Cynder.

Cynder yawned and asked, "What's with all of the commotion?"

Spyro responded, "Dunno but it came from that way." Spyro said pointing down the hall.

Cynder cocked her head and said, "Isn't that were Jas's room is."

Owen's eyes widened and he tore off in the direction of Jas's room, Boe shook himself then followed Owen. "You probably shouldn't have said that." Spyro said.

Cynder shrugged her shoulders and said, "Probably but to late now, come on lets go." Spyro nodded and they both went to Jas's room.

Owen was in front of Jas's room and he was beating on her door, "Jas! Jas! You alright?" the door opened and Jas was standing in the doorway shaking as if she was cold. "Jas are you alright?" Owen said concerned.

Jas stuttered, "I…I think so."

Spyro and Cynder were rounding the corner and Spyro said, "Is everything alright?"

Jas said shaken, "I saw dark figures coming towards me, they looked like skeletons with skin stretched over their bones, I couldn't move. It was horrible!"

Spyro, Cynder, and Owen exchanged glances, then Cynder said, "Nightwalkers." everyone turned their attention to Cynder, "They attack people in their sleep, but only Malefor had the power to controle them."

Spyro asked shocked, "You are not telling me that he is back are you?"

Cynder shook her head, "I don't know, but they are attacking Jas, we have to protect her." Spyro and Owen nodded, "The Nightwalkers are physical in this world but enter the minds of the sleeping and torment them."

Owen quickly said, "Ok, so all we have to do is get them before they get to Jas."

"It not as easy as that, they can only be harmed by light, thus the term _Night_walkers." Cynder then said.

Spyro then asked, "Will any light do?"

Cynder paused and said, "Only sunlight will kill them but any other light will cause them pain, why?"

"Well fire is a light source, why not use that?" Spyro asked.

Cynder nodded, "That could work, but they will keep on coming back until they get what they want."

Jas looked horrified, then Owen asked, "Cynder you said they were physical in this world, physical how?"

"They exist in the shadow, they can be seen and felt but they can escape harm. If you tried fighting one it would be like shadow punching." Cynder said.

Everyone was still, Owen then said, "Well regardless we should take up shifts, or at least positions." everyone nodded.

Jas said, "You don't have to do this for me."

Cynder spoke next, "It is no trouble at all Jas, besides these things are dangerous. Now go and get some sleep and leave everything to us." Jas reluctantly went into her room and went to bed. When the door closed Cynder said, "They will be back soon. Spyro, you and Owen keep watch outside, I'll go inside and wait."

"Why?" Spyro asked.

"Because, they can sense the presence of those awake and those asleep. I can hide my presence from them and then you two will come in when I give the signal." Cynder explained.

Owen nodded his head and said, "Alright." Cynder went into Jas's room and waited in a corner. "I hope this works." Owen said nervously. It has been a half an hour and nothing has happened, Owen and Spyro were leaning against the wall. All was quiet but was disrupted by a loud creaking sound, "What was that?" Owen asked half awake.

Spyro's eyes shot open, "What? Oh sorry."

From the other side of the door they could here Cynder yell, "Guys get in here!"

Owen and Spyro quickly opened the door and rushed in but were stopped by something, "Ah, what was that?" Owen asked staggering back. What they saw in front of them was like glass with a bluish tint, beyond this glass was Jas hovering above her bed which was also hovering, they had a bluish glow to them. "Jas!" Owen yelled but it seemed to have no avail.

"Um what about me?" Cynder asked and floated past the door with the same glow.

It was Spyro's turn to yell, "Cynder!"

Owen started to punch the glass but it just deflected his punched and a blue ripple would appear where he punched. Owen continued punching saying, "Why…won't…this…break?"

The elders came running down the hallway, Terador asked, "What is going on here?"

Owen was ignoring everything around him and kept on striking the glass. In the shadows he could see movement, four black figures came out of the shadows matching Jas's description. Owen paused and gasped, "No."

Ignitus behind Owen said in shock, "Nightwalkers."

The Nightwalkers were approaching Jas knowing that everyone outside the room couldn't get in. Owen continued to punch the glass but with no avail, "I…have…to…get…in!"

Ignitus said, "Calm down, I understand your urgency but it will do you no good if you exhaust yourself."

Owen threw back his arms gave a yell, he put all his strength into his next punch. Owen then felt power rushing into him and he gave one more punch to the glass. His fist erupted in a white light that surrounded it like a flame, his fist made contact with the glass and it shattered. Everyone was speechless and the Nightwalkers turned to face Owen, they were right next to Jas's side about to enter her mind. Everything that was hovering dropped to the ground, including Cynder, when the glass broke. Owen saw his opportunity and rushed into the room, "Get away from her!" Owen's fist was still on fire with the light and he punched the nearest Nightwalker who gave a shriek clasping its face and disintegrated leaving a pile of ash. The other Nightwalkers were fleeing to the shadows but Owen punched at the next one a few feet away and it too shrieked and turned to ash as well. There were only two left and Owen knew he wouldn't get them, out of desperation he punched at the nearest one that was out of reach and the light flew off his hand and hit the Nightwalker in the back and it fell to the ground and turned to ash. The last one dove into the shadows and disappeared. Owen stared at the spot where it vanished and then ran to Jas who was now waking up, "Are you ok?" he asked desperately.

Jas sat up in bed and said, "Yea I think so, but my head is killing me. What happened?"

Owen was just about to explain but Ignitus interrupted, "Owen do you know what you just did?" Owen shook his head.

Spyro was helping Cynder get up, "Thanks." she said to Spyro then said to Owen, "You just killed three Nightwalkers." Owen stared at her blankly, "Who can only be killed by light."

Owen thought for awhile then laughed asking, "Are you saying I can controle light?"

Ignitus then said, "It appears that way, has this ever happened before?"

Owen laughed even harder, "Are you kidding? Nobody can do this back home."

"Do not get to hopeful, one Nightwalker got away and will surely return to its master." Ignitus said and everyone had grim faces.

__

Nexus was in a dark room on a throne made of bones with a huge purple crystal in the wall behind him that gave off an evil glow. The Nightwalker appeared in front of Nexus, "Did you bring the girl?" Nexus asked.

In a weak horse voice the Nightwalker answered, "No I did not, the boy interfered and killed three of my kin."

Nexus's eyes shot open, "What?! How is that possible?! No mortal can kill your race, and you are telling me that a boy killed them?!" Nexus was furious.

"I'm sorry." the Nightwalker said cowering at Nexus's feet.

Nexus relaxed and said, "No matter, does she have the ability?"

The Nightwalker looked up and said, "Yes she does."

"Good, good, but you know that failure cannot go unpunished." Nexus said with an evil smile. He grabbed the Nightwalker by the back of the neck and brought him over to the balcony, "Do you know what I'm going to do?"

The Nightwalker looked on the horizon and said in fear, "Oh no master not that!" the sun was rising over the horizon.

Nexus smiled, "Yes that." the Nightwalker tried to escape but his master held him to the spot. The Nightwalker gave a shriek of the damned and started to burned as the sun came up until it finally turned to ash. Nexus put his hands behind his back and said, "Nobody fails me. So she has the gift, I must capture her, and the boy may be useful as well." the purple crystal started to pulse and Nexus smiled.

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**And that was Chapter 5, thanks for reading. Please Review and tell me how you liked it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I own everyone on my profile page nobody else.**

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**Chapter 6: Training**

After a long night and little sleep Cynder got up and went to the training room. Along the way she passed Spyro's room and heard snoring from inside, "Are they still asleep?" she asked herself and went to the door. She knocked and asked, "Hey you guys up?" but she got no response. Cynder then decided to wake Spyro and Owen up and entered the room. As she entered she noticed Owen sleeping on his hammock with Boe nearby, Spyro in his nest, and Sparx was noticeably higher in the room on a branch. She walked over to Spyro, she noticed how peaceful he looked, "Spyro." she said softly. Spyro started to talk in his sleep.

__

Spyro was dreaming, he as on a grassy hill with Cynder and the sun was setting over the horizon. "Cynder, I can't live without you." the black dragoness smiled at Spyro and Cynder wrapped their tails together, "I lo…" Spyro's dream was cut off by a loud yawn. Spyro awoke to find himself in his room with Cynder standing next to him and Owen getting up, "Cynder what are you doing here?" he asked Cynder who had a tint of red to her face.

Cynder was stumbling for words, "Um, well, I…I came t…to get you for tr…training."

Spyro got up, "Well ok then lets go." Spyro started heading for the door.

Owen was up and asked, "Hey, has anyone seen my sword?"

Spyro stopped and said, "It should be by the window, nobody touched it since you left, why?"

"No reason in particular, just wanted to be sure it wasn't lost." Owen said stretching his arms. He walked over to the window and retrieved his sword, it was tipped over on the ground. He picked it up then removed it from its sheath, the sword was perfectly restored, no rust, no dings, and no scratches. Owen shook his head, "It just keeps on getting more and more bizarre. But hey, at least I have a weapon now." he then changed into his new cloths when Spyro and Cynder left then walked to the training room with sword in hand and Boe by his side.

Spyro and Cynder were heading to the training room, Cynder was still thinking about what she had herd_, I can't live without you,_ the thought made her blush. Spyro noticed this and asked, "Are you alright?" all Cynder did was nod her head. It has been a couple of minutes and everyone was in the training room except for Jas. "Jas has never been this late before." Spyro said.

"Well maybe she is still sleeping, after all she was attacked last night." Owen suggested.

Cynder got up and said, "I'll go get her." she then exited the training room and went to Jas's room.

When Cynder left Owen said, "Hey Spyro, do you know you talk in your sleep?"

Spyro looked at Owen, "No I didn't know that."

Owen smiled, "Don't worry I won't tell."

"Tell who what?" Spyro asked curiously.

"You mean you don't know? Well in that case, *ahem*, Cynder your eyes glisten like the moon, you mean everything to me, I can't live without you. Shall I continue?" Owen said mimicking Spyro.

Spyro's face turned a deep red, "You herd that?!" Spyro asked.

Owen then said, "I'm a light sleeper. Don't worry I won't tell her." Owen saw Spyro give a sigh of relief, "Unless she asks me."

"Please don't!" Spyro pleaded.

"No I won't, besides she herd enough when she came in this morning." Owen said.

Spyro blushed, _So that's why she was acting strange this morning._

__

Cynder was by Jas's room and entered it, "Jas its time to go to training." Cynder saw Jas on her bed and a small rock was hovering in the air above her hand. Her scars were a blue color, her hand had a blue outline around it and so did the rock. "Um, Jas?" Cynder asked.

Jas looked up and the blue was gone, "Oh Cynder, I didn't hear you come in."

"What were you doing?" Cynder asked walking closer to Jas.

Jas bit her lip, "Would you believe me if I told you I was , um, a psychic?"

Cynder stared at her, "What?!"

"A psychic, you know, someone who can manipulate objects with their mind." Jas explained

"I know what a psychic is." Cynder said, "How long have you known?"

Jas then said, "A day or two, I found a book in the temple library that had illustrations on psychics and I was doing some training methods." she gestured to a book on her bed.

"Can you lift anything else?" Cynder asked. Jas shook her head, "But last night you lifted yourself, your bed, and me." Cynder protested.

"No just this and other small objects, for now." Jas said.

"Try." Cynder said and Jas looked up, "Try lifting your bed."

Jas sighed, "Aright, but I'm telling you it won't work." Jas got off her bed and aimed her hand at it. She closed her eyes and her scars began to glow, the bed got a blue outline and it shook a little. Jas opened her eyes and closed them again, concentrating hard, the bed once again shook and then lifted into the air a foot.

Cynder's eyes widened, "Your doing it Jas!"

Jas opened her eyes to see the bed hovering then released it panting, she put her hand to her head, "Now I know why my head hurt last night."

"Can you do anything else?" Cynder asked.

Jas was still holding her head, "I can make small "force fields" if you want to call them that, but not that big, and if you say I made a big one last night…"

"But you did!" Cynder exclaimed.

There was silence, "I read that psychics might be more powerful when they are sleeping and more unpredictable, I'm assuming that you came to get me for training?" Jas asked.

"Yea, lets go." Cynder said and they went to the training room.

Once they got to the training room they were confronted by Terador, "Why are you so late?" he asked calmly.

Cynder was about to answer but was interrupted by Jas, "I was asleep and Cynder came to get me." Cynder saw what Jas was doing and nodded.

"Well I'll let it slide after last nights events." Terador said and moved off to the side by the switch that lowers the statue in the training room, "Aright time for warm up." The animated dummies sprang out of the floor and everyone charged in, except for Terador of course. Owen left his sword by Boe because he wanted to use it for individual training. He tried to use his power of light but to him it felt like the power was just in reach, but he couldn't grasp it. Spyro was grappling the dummies and throwing them across the room, some got stuck in the walls. Cynder was popping in and out of her Cloak of Shadows, appearing behind the dummies and would tackle them to the ground. Jas was kicking and punching at the dummies and one of them knocked her to the ground.

The dummy that knocked her down was about to strike her, "No get away!" she screamed pointing her hand at it, her scars started to glow. Then, without meaning to, a transparent blue orb of psychic energy flew from her hand and blew the dummy into a wall. Jas was shocked at what she had done, "What was that?" she asked herself.

Owen saw the dummy fly into the wall, because it almost hit him, "Holy shit!" he exclaimed, he turned to see were the dummy flew from to see Jas on the ground, "What did you do?" he asked her walking over to her, he noticed that her scars were glowing blue for a second or two.

Owen was helping Jas up, "Um, telepathy." Jas said.

Owen then said, "Ah, that explains allot."

Jas was surprised and asked, "You mean you believe me?"

Owen laughed, "After everything that has happened I'm ready to believe anything."

All of the dummies disappeared and Terador approached Owen and Jas, "Well then a psychic, I haven't seen one in years."

Jas asked, "You mean there are others?"

"Yes, but most prefer to live alone. Probably so they can concentrate on their powers." Terador said.

"But I don't like solitude." Jas said wondering if they were going to send her to a psychic trainer.

Terador said, "Nor do you have to. Now with that aside, it is time to work on your fighting. Who's first?"

Owen was walking over to Boe to retrieve his sword, "I guess I'll go first, besides I have to work on my swordsmanship." Owen removed his sword from its sheath and murmured to himself, "I have to get a belt for this." Owen was moved to the center of the training room.

"Are you ready?" Terador asked.

Owen swung the sword in the air, getting the feel of a real sword, "I guess so." a single dummy came out of the ground and charged at Owen. Owen timed his attack, he waited until the dummy was upon him then side stepped past it, just like Ace taught him, and cleaved off its head. "Is that all you got?" Owen asked in a cocky tone. Just then Three large dummies sprang from the floor and charged at Owen, "Me and my big mouth." he said to himself, the dummies charged at Owen and he dodged their attacks trying to find a weakness.

Terador said, "Come on now use your element!"

Spyro was on the side and asked, "I thought that light wasn't an element?""Convexity is an element." Terador said.

Owen was leaping at the dummies, slashing at them, "I'm guessing this Convexity is darkness, and if it is then for every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction, basic physics." Owen said trying to avoid being hit.

"Well why don't you use Light then?" Spyro asked.

Owen slid under a dummy avoiding its attack, "Hey this is new to me, mind giving me the crash course."

"You controle the power it does not controle you." Terador said giving a few words of wisdom.

Owen then faced the dummies, _You controle the power it does not controle you, _Owen thought in he head. He tightened his grip on his sword and closed his eyes, all was dark for awhile then he saw a light and felt power flowing into him. His eyes shot open and he gave a hard swing with his sword at the dummies, a beam of light flew at them in the path of the sword and sliced all three in half. Owen looked at the dummies on the ground and they disappeared, he then looked at his sword. It was glowing in an aura of white energy, it was coming off the sword like the steam off his wounds. "Well, now that's interesting." he said, the power left him and the sword returned to normal, "Thanks Terador."

Terador nodded, "Your welcome, who's next?"

Spyro got up and said, "I'll go." Spyro started to head to the center of the training room.

"Alright, are you ready?" Terador asked, Spyro nodded and four small dummies came out of the ground and charged at Spyro. Spyro did a back flip avoiding the dummies and fired two well placed Earth Shots and destroyed all the dummies. Then four large dummies and four medium dummies came out of the ground and charged. Spyro looked around and rose into the air, there was a pause, then a column of fire formed around Spyro and exploded outward and the dummies around him were burned to a crisp, only ashes were left.

Owen jumped back when the column of fire exploded, "What the hell was that?!"

Spyro lowered to the ground, there was fire on his body, then said, "That was a Fury."

Owen said speechless, "Damn."

Terador smiled and said, "Next."

Cynder started to walk into the center, "I'll go if that's ok with Jas."

Jas was sitting against a wall, she had her rock in her hand and was levitating it, she looked up, "What? Oh sorry, no you can go." Jas then turned her concentration back on the rock which rose from her palm.

"You ready?" Terador asked Cynder, she nodded.

"Just warn me before you do a Fury." Owen said.

Cynder smiled and said, "I don't use Fury's, they take to long, I prefer speed and agility." Then four dummies sprang from the ground and charged. Cynder started to spin and a tornado formed around her gaining speed, the dummies were being thrown around like rag doles and finally were thrown to the ground when Cynder stopped spinning. Then four big and four medium dummies came out of the floor and surrounded Cynder, a black flame came from her maw and engulfed two large and one medium dummy who than started to attack the other dummies. She quickly turned around and shot a green ball at the ones behind her that, when it hit them, formed more balls that in turn made a green acid on impact. Those dummies fell to the ground and disappeared. The ones that were attacking each other finished off the other dummies leaving them only ones left. Cynder charged at them and a red sonic screech came from her mouth and stopped the dummies in their tracks. She tackled the first large dummy who fell to the ground and disappeared, then she face the other large one and head butted it in the air then jumped and head butted it back to the ground, upon impact it disappeared. Cynder landed behind the last medium dummy and pierced it through the chest with her scythe tail, then it disappeared.

"Um, Cynder?" Owen asked with his mouth open.

Cynder turned to Owen, "What?"

Owen paused, "What just happened?" everyone started to laugh and Jas got up and started to head to the center of the training room.

Terador, still chuckling, asked, "Ready?" Jas nodded.

Jas quickly said, "Could you send just one? I want to try something."

"Aright." Terador said and a single dummy appeared. Jas and the dummy charged each other, Jas punched at the dummy and, without ever making contact, sent the dummy flying it the opposite direction. "Did it work?" Terador asked.

"Yes it did." Jas responded.

Spyro asked, "And what did work?"

"I sent some psychic energy to my fist, kind of like a boxing glove." Jas explained.

"You ready for more?" Terador asked.

"Hold on." Jas said and picked up some rocks, "Ok, now I'm ready." then four big and two medium dummies appeared. Jas opened her palms and the rocks hovered around her in an orbit with a blue outline to them, her scars turned instantly blue, the dummies charged at her and with a flick if her wrist a stone flew at one medium dummy and caught it between the eyes, it disappeared. The other dummies were closing in and Jas pointed her open hand at a large dummy and three rocks flew at it, pelting it until it disappeared. The other dummies were upon Jas and she punched at two other large dummies and sent them flying. She then kicked at the remaining large dummy and it flew into a wall, all that was left was a medium dummy and she rolled away from it attack. She stood up and pointed her open hand at the last dummy, her hand got a blue outline to it and so did the dummy around its entire self. She raised her hand in the air and the dummy rose into the air, beads of sweat were forming on her brow, Jas then made her hand into a fist and the dummy was crushed. Jas gasped and the dummy fell to the ground and disappeared, her scars turned back to normal.

Jas was panting, "At least, *pant*, I know, *pant*, the extent, *pant*, of my powers."

Terador spoke, "That should do it for today."

Everyone went to their rooms, along the way Owen said to Jas, "That was incredible, I wouldn't want to fight you in battle."

Jas was still a little winded, "Thanks, but there is a limit, like I can't lift heavy things, yet, or that if I grab a sentient being all they have to do is break my concentration."

"Ah, but still that was amazing." Owen said. Everyone was in their rooms now. Owen was on his hammock, Boe next to him, Owen asked Spyro, "Hey Spyro?"

Spyro was laying in his nest, "What?"

"What's your story?" Owen asked.

There was a pause, "What do you mean?" Spyro asked.

Owen turned to face Spyro, "You know, your experiences, adventures, day to day things, that sort of thing."

Spyro said, "Get comfortable because it is a long story." Spyro then spent the next couple of hours telling Owen his ENTIRE story, from when he found out he was a dragon, to fighting Cynder, to escaping the pirate ship, being trapped in a crystal for three years, the defeat of Malifor, up to the present day, and explained that he was the dragon of legend. "And that is about it." Spyro said finishing up.

Owen paused, "Wow, just wow, I wish my life was as eventful as yours. I never understood why someone would want to destroy the world, never have never will"

Spyro chuckled, "So what about you, what was your life like?"

Owen said, "Well my life was pretty dull until I ended up hear, school, work, that sort of stuff."

Spyro asked, "What about your world?"

Owen scratched his head, "Well for starters my world is at war."

Spyro interrupted, "Why doesn't anyone stop it?"

"It's not that easy, you see my country is trying to help another, but some people don't like us and attacked us and killed lot of people." Owen tried to explain the best he could.

"Why would someone do that?" Spyro asked.

Owen shrugged his shoulders, "Dunno, some people just don't like other people, from their beliefs or the way they were raised. This one guy Hitler, this was before I was borne, ordered his armies and stuff like that to kill people. He killed, um let me think, about say 11million people maybe more, well not directly but by his orders just because he didn't like them." Owen glanced at Spyro who was in thought.

Spyro thought, _How could someone be responsible for that many deaths, not even Malifor killed that many,_ Spyro hesitated and asked, "Is your country the good or bad guys?"

Owen as taken aback but could see were Spyro was coming from, "Well we like to think of ourselves as the good guys, but you have to look at it from a different perspective. You see some people think that our government is evil but we don't think of ourselves that way, others think of us as allies, and others see us as just another government or don't know about us."

Spyro was forced to ask, "Why wouldn't people know about your country?"

Owen laughed, "You are just full of questions, well some just don't know about us. Then don't have connection with society and are isolated from us, some people are trying to fix that but I think that if they were living like this for many years we should just leave them alone if they don't want us." Owen could see a grim look on his face from hearing the worst his world has to offer. "But in my world of death and war, we find peace. It is not easy and sometimes it does not last but we find ways to cope with our problems and try to fix them. Some of the greatest minds in my world are trying to find ways to make my world better and to stop war and famine. They are probably the best chance for my world, but some people get in the way because they don't see the big picture." Owen saw that Spyro lightened up, "My world is not doomed, we will fix it, one way or another."

Spyro asked, "After this is all over what will you do?"

Owen hadn't though of that, "I don't know Spyro, I just don't know."

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**Thanks for reading, this chapter was mainly to show how I would have the characters fight and that Spyro has strong feelings for Cynder (which we already know he does). The talk about Earth was mainly foreshadowing so don't go thinking that I myself think our world is a shit hole, but I do think that we, as a race, will prevail. That aside Chapter 7 out soon. PLEASE REVIEW!** **thanks**


	7. Chapter 7

**I only own those that are on my profile page. Four days has past since the last chapter. Why four, because nothing exciting happened in those days.**

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**Chapter 7: Dragon's Blood**

It has been a few days since Owen arrived at the temple. He and Jas have gained controle of their powers, Owen can summon light at his will and Jas can now lift bigger things and is no longer hovering in her sleep. They also learned a priceless ability, the ability to ignore Sparx's comments. "Come on now you can do it!" Sparx yelled at Owen. Everyone was in the training room and Owen got the bright idea that he could take on ten large dummies at once. Owen jumped up and slashed at a dummy, his sword glowing, the dummy swatted him aside like a fly. Owen face planted, "Yow that's got to hurt, I give the landing a two. I'm very disappointed in you." Owen got up, his face was bloody from the landing, and the steam came off his wounds making him all better. "Now give them the old one two!" Sparx yelled. Owen charged in and swung his blade, a stream of energy came off it aimed at the dummy but it missed and almost hit Sparx, "Hey watch it!"

Owen smiled, "Sorry"

"You need to work on your aim." Sparx said.

"Your right, maybe next time I will actually hit you." Owen said with a grin on his face, everyone laughed.

Sparx crossed his arms and said, "Oh ha ha, very funny."

"Have you had enough yet?" Ignitus asked, it was Ignitus's turn to supervise the training session today.

Owen said, "You kidding? I still have some fight in me."

"Not for long if you keep that up, your form is all wrong." a voice said.

Everyone turned to see a man in a hooded cloak by the door, the man removed his hood, "Ace! Your back!" Owen said happy that his mentor is back.

Owen lowered his guard and a dummy blindsided him, "Never let your guard down." another voice said and a cat like creature walked in.

Spyro said, "Hunter it is good to see you but what are you doing here?"

Owen said getting up, "So your Hunter, Spyro told me a lot about you." Owen then looked up to see a dummy about to hit him, but Owen side stepped and stabbed it through the back, it disappeared shortly after.

Hunter said, "Nice kill, and to answer your question Spyro I ran into an old friend and decided to accompany him." Hunter said nodding to Ace, "We have had a lot of good times, right Ace, like the time we..."

Ace quickly interrupted, "Come now Hunter, we don't want to bore them now do we." Ace gave a sign to Hunter to keep quiet. Hunter looked puzzled then gave an understanding nod. "Anyways would someone mind explain to me why Owen is fighting so many large dummies?" Ace looked at everyone.

Ignitus answered, "We are just giving him what he wanted. He said he could do it and now we are seeing if he can do it."

Owen then said trying not to get hit, "I can do it!" Owen tightened his grip on his sword, "Watch!" Sparx hid behind Spyro from fear of being hit. Owen swung his blade and in the path of the blade a crescent shaped beam of light flew from it cutting three of the large dummies in half ,"See!".

Ace was trembling, then said, "Owen I want you to listen very carefully to me." Owen turned to his mentor, "I want you to build up that energy in your body, as much as you can, and when you can't contain it anymore release it all at once. Got that?"

Owen nodded, a little disturbed of what his mentor asked of him. Owen then closed his eyes and built up the energy in himself, the power was building and building, his body felt like it was going to explode. Finally his body couldn't contain it anymore, Owen opened his eyes to she that he was hovering a foot or two in the air. He realized that he had six wings made of light, one on ether side of his upper back tilted upward, one on ether side of the center of his back level with the ground, and one on ether side of his lower back tilted down. All the energy flew out of his body, the wings folded over Owen then shot outward, the wings were sending out hundreds feathers than priced the dummies numerous times. When it was over Owen lowered back to the ground and the wings disintegrated into feathers starting from the tips moving inward to Owen's body. Owen felt weak after letting all of that energy go, not weak from exhaustion but weak from not having all that energy in his body released. He collapsed to the ground then asked, "Wha…what was that?"

Everyone's eyes were wide and Ace was on his knees trembling, "Impossible." he gasped under his breath.

"Ace are you alright?" Hunter asked kneeling down to eye level to his friend.

Ace was still trembling, "It's him, it's him, but he is much older. I thought I could get him away, but fate will not let me. I did not want this, I did not want this."

"Come my friend, lets get you some air." Hunter said helping Ace up.

"Were are you going?" Spyro asked.

Hunter turned around, "Ace just needs to get some air, that was some sight and caught him off guard, as it did with the rest of us I'm sure." Hunter continued to exit the training room with Ace in a trance.

Jas was by Owen helping him up, then she asked, "Are you alright?"

Owen was panting, "Yea I'm fine, what was that?"

Jas shook her head, "I don't know. What do you think Ignitus?"

Ignitus was shocked of what happened then said, "If I'm not mistaken, you could have very well preformed a Fury."

Cynder whispered to Spyro, "Hey, did you notice the look on Ace's face? It looked like he saw a ghost."

Spyro whispered back, "Yea, and the way Hunter acted concerns me. It was like he knew what Ace was worried about or what was wrong."

Ignitus was walking out of the training room, "You can have the rest of the day to yourselves, I must speak with the other elders."

Owen sighed, "Great, I'm going to be the talk of the week now." everyone gave a disturbed chuckle after what just happened.

__

Hunter led Ace outside and Ace sat down next to a tree, "Alright Ace what is the matter with you?" Hunter asked concerned.

Ace looked up, "He's back."

Hunter asked, "Who, who is back?"

Ace didn't hear Hunter, "After all of these years he is finally back."

Hunter thought for a moment, "You don't mean…"

"Yes." Ace interrupted, "He is, and now nothing can stop him from his destiny now."

Hunter paused for he knew better that anyone else, except for Ace, what Ace meant then said, "You will have to confront him and tell him the truth."

Ace's face was grim, "I know, but I wonder if he will hate me?"

Hunter the said, "If he truly is who you say he is then he won't."

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Owen was in his shared room with Spyro on his hammock with Boe nearby. Ace walked into the room, "Hey Ace, Are you feeling better." Owen asked concerned for Ace.

Ace looked up, "Yes I am."

"Well that's good to hear. Say, how did you know I could do that?" Owen asked.

Ace was not prepared for that question, "Um…why don't we go scout the area and I'll explain everything."

Owen got out of his hammock, "Alright then lets go, come on Boe." Owen went to get his cloak that Ace gave him and put on his sword belt, he finally got one.

"Um, I was kind of thinking that it would be just the two of us." Ace said ashamed of himself of what he was asking of Owen.

Owen looked down at Boe then knelt down by him, "Will you be alright here by yourself?" Boe whimpered, "I know, but it will only be for awhile ok" Boe licked Owen's face then settled himself hinder Owen's hammock.

Ace felt lower than dirt for having to split Owen and Boe up but he knew it had to be done for now, "I'm sorry." he said under his breath then said louder, "Ready."

"I guess." Owen said, "See you Boe, I'll be back in awhile." Owen and Ace then left the temple and went into the forest.

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Hunter was walking in the temple and saw Ace and Owen leave, "Go and tell him, it is for the best." he said, then turned down the hallway.

"Hey Hunter, I wanted to ask you something." Hunter turned around to see Spyro.

"Anything friend." Hunter said.

Spyro asked, "What was wrong with Ace, and don't say he was shocked form what Owen did."

"Well, almost anything." Hunter said.

"What?" Spyro asked.

Hunter then sighed, "I cannot tell you, for it is not my place, I know why Ace was acting like he was but like I said, it is not my place to tell you."

"I see." Spyro said.

"I'm sorry friend, I would tell you if I could, but I can't." Hunter said and continue walking.

__

Ace and Owen were deep in the forest now, "Um Ace where did you say we were going?" Owen asked.

Ace didn't look at Owen, "Somewhere special." was all he said.

Owen and Ace were walking for awhile longer then Owen broke the silence, "How did you know I could do that um, Fury back in the temple?"

Ace continued looking forward, "You'll see." they have been walking for hours, "Were here." Ace said. They were in front of a cave, the outside of the cave had strange runes on the edge of the opening. "Come on." Ace said and continued forward into the cave.

"Ace, where are we?" Owen asked.

Ace continued looking forward, "We are in the Dragon Blood temple, it is a sacred place and all who are in the Order of the Dragon are required to here before they are knighted."

Owen then asked, "Are you saying that I'm being knighted?"

Ace paused, "No, I'm not saying that. I just wanted to show you something." Ace walked through a stone arch and Owen followed. The room was large and completely empty but had inscriptions on the wall, they walked into the center of the room. Ace removed his glove and pulled out a dagger, he cut his hand leaving a deep gash. "Forgive me." Ace said and moved towards Owen.

"Ace what are you doing?" Owen asked and noticed a white steam coming off Ace's gash.

Ace placed his hand with the gash on Owen's for head and said, "By the power of the royal family, I release you from your bonds, and awaken your Dragon Blood." Ace removed his hand from Owen's brow which is now covered in blood, nothing happened and Ace gave a sighed of relief.

Owen asked, "Why did you do tha…" but was cut off. He felt his skin start to crawl and Owen threw off his cloak, he looked at his arms and white scales started to grow on them. Ace's face turned pale, Owen's cloths started to disappear under the scales, not ripping or tearing. Owen sprouted a tail and his hands and feet turned into paws and grew claws, wings grew out of his back and Owen started to scream in pain. He started to grow ivory colored horns that curved back, and ivory spines, slightly tilted back, sprouted from the top of his head all the way down his spine to the end of his new tail. The end of his tail was shaped like an arrow head and razor sharp. Owen's face started to elongate and his arms and legs grew bigger. Owen's screams developed into a roar and he collapsed to the ground, as a white dragon.

Ace started to cry, "I wish that it didn't come to this, I wanted him to be safe." Ace fell to the ground, "I wanted him to be safe!"

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Jas was in her room and was levitating her bed, then she herd the door open, Jas broke concentration and let the bed fall, "Who's there?" she asked.

"It is just me." Cynder said.

Jas turned around, "Oh hi, what is on your mind?" Jas asked.

"Owen and Ace have been gone a long time, aren't you worried?" Cynder asked.

Jas sat on her bed, "No, why am I suppose to be?"

Cynder looked up, "No, it is just that Ace seemed to be acting strange in the training room and well, it's probably nothing, but do you think that Owen might be in danger?"

Jas shook her head, "No, if Owen trust him then I trust him."

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Owen was unconscious but was dreaming, he was a white dragon, about the size of Spyro, and was in front of the woman in the white cloaked and the man in the black cloak, "Where am I and who are you two?" Owen asked.

The woman in white spoke, "You will have to figure that out on your own."

"The events that have past have changed the outcome of your fate." the man in black said.

"What?" Owen asked.

The woman in white then spoke, "Because of this change your destiny has also changed."

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Owen asked.

The man and woman spoke in unison, "Be prepared for the darkness ahead for without you, the light, there will be nothing but darkness."

Owen said, "I have no Idea what your talking about."

The cloaked figures stated to float backwards saying, "Prepare." over and over.

"Wait!" Owen yelled, he then saw a light and woke up. Owen grabbed his head, "Where am I?" he asked himself.

"Don't you remember? I said we were in the Dragon Blood temple." A familiar voice said behind him.

Owen turned around, "Oh yea, now I remember, why did you…" when Owen turned around he saw a white dragon, about the size of Ignitus, The dragon looked like an older version of Owen's dragon self. He had longer thicker horns and spins, bigger wings, and the tip of his tail was an arrow shape but sharper and longer. "Who…who are you?" Owen asked wondering were Ace was.

The dragon stood up, "I'm hurt, you don't remember you mentor?" the dragon's wings and tail started to shrink and retract into its body, his body started to take on a human appearance, the appearance of Ace.

Owen was speechless, "What the hell man." was all he could say.

Ace didn't look Owen in the eyes, "I'm sorry, truly I am, but I had to know."

"What if you could turn me into a dragon? Yea thanks a lot." Owen said a bit furious.

"Owen you have to believe me, I never wanted this to happen to you." Ace said.

Owen asked, "Then why did you do it?"

Ace then said, "It was the only way to know."

"To know what?" Owen asked.

Ace sighed, "To know if you were my son." there was a pause, Owen didn't know what to say, "Owen, I'm your father."

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**That's Chapter 7, sorry if that was to predictable. The next Chapter Owen gets to learn how to fly, that should be fun. Still read the next Chapter because there is more to it than that. Please review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I own the characters only on my profile page, none of the Spyro characters.**

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**Chapter 8: Old friends, New allies**

Owen and Ace stood still for a long time, Owen was shocked by Ace's claim. "Tha…that's impossible!" Owen struggled to say, "My father is on Earth! He is a…"

Owen was cut off by Ace, "A fisherman, forty-one years old, name Jack. He is married to Julie, she helps him with fishing, thirty-nine years old."

Owen was stunned that Ace knew so much about his parents since he never met them, "How…how do you know all of this?" he asked shaken.

Ace said, "Because I sent them to Earth, with my baby boy, with you." Owen was still unbelieving, "Owen, trust me, it tore my heart out when I sent you away with two of my best friends. I had no other choice, I wanted to protect you."

Owen then asked, "From what?"

"From your destiny." Ace said, "I…I saw you in battle. To figures spoke to me, a woman in white and a man in black…"

Owen interrupted, "I see them too. They told my that I was suppose to lead in battle." Owen saw that Ace was speechless, "The man said that in one path I die and in the other I live."

Ace spoke, "That is exactly what I was trying to protect you from, but neither Fate nor Destiny will let me have my way."

Owen gave a funny look, "You speak as if they are people."

"The woman in white and the man in black have names, they are the meddlers, the watchers, and the keepers. The woman Destiny and the man Fate, and they can be so cruel." Ace said in a shaken voice.

Owen took a step forward, "Just now, before I woke up, I spoke to them." Ace looked at Owen, "The man…Fate…said that the events that have past have changed the outcome of my fate. Destiny also said that because of that change my destiny had also changed."

Ace was dumfounded, "They told me that you would be the light in the darkness, and told me to prepare, for what I do not know, but that was two years ago, before I sent you away."

"But how? I'm fifteen and you said that you supposable sent me as a baby." Owen said trying to counteract Ace's claim of Owen being his son.

Ace reached into is bag and pulled out a book, "I used this to send you to a world that's time is faster than that of this world. It wasn't easy, I had to get past the ancients seals that makes sure that all worlds, this one, Earth, and others, are isolated." It seemed that Ace cringed as he looked at the book, "I'm sorry." Ace fell to his knees head down, "I'm so sorry, I ju…I just wanted to keep you safe." Owen could see tears falling to the ground, although he could not see Ace's face.

Owen walked forward, "Running is never the answer." Ace looked up, "If you run from your problems they will just come back to haunt you." Owen was in front of Ace, "I don't want to believe a word of what you told me, but for some reason, I do. I also want you to know that, I forgive you, and that there is no reason to be hard on yourself." Owen could see that Ace had a fresh stream of tears flowing down his face, "I forgive you, dad."

Ace fell to the ground, face by Owen's paws, "Thank you." he gasped through his tears, "Thank you, my son."

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Jas was reading through the book she found in the library, it was entitled "Illustrations on Psychics", Jas glanced at the window to see that the sun low in the sky, _I might not have been worried before, but now I am starting to,_ Jas marked the page she was on and closed it. She headed out of her room and went to Owen and Spyro's room, _Maybe he is back and I just didn't notice, _Jas made her was to Owen's room and knocked on the door and asked, "Hey anybody in there?"

From the other side Spyro replied, "Yea come in."

Jas entered to see only Spyro and Boe, "Is Owen back?"

"No, I haven't seen him since Ace took him for scouting. Ancestors know why Boe is here, they never go anywhere without each other." Spyro said.

"Do you have any idea where they could be?" Jas asked.

Spyro shook his head, "No, if I knew I would tell you."

"I'm sorry for the intrusion but there is a disturbance in the village and was wondering if anyone would like to come." Jas and Spyro turned to the door to see Hunter.

"Do you know what it is?" Spyro asked.

Hunter entered the room and Cynder followed, Cynder said, "No, that is what we are going to find out, you coming?"

Spyro stood up and said, "Sure."

Jas then said, "I guess, since there is nothing else to do." everyone exited the temple, Cynder and Spyro took to the sky and Hunter and Jas darted off on foot. "Hey Hunter?" Jas asked.

"Hmm." Hunter replied.

"What can you tell me about Ace? I mean, I haven't know him long and want to know more about him." Jas then said, "You are worried because Owen and Ace have been gone for a long time, am I right." Jas's face said it all, "Don't worry, Ace may have a rough history, but he is probably the most reliable and trustworthy person you will ever meet."

Jas quickened her pace to keep up with Hunter, "What happened to him?"

Hunter looked at Jas then forward again, "I wish I could tell you, but I can not and will not. Well not without Ace's permission." Hunter could see the look of discontent on Jas's face. They traveled for awhile longer and then arrived at the village, "We're here."

As they got closer to the center of the town they could see a crowd of people surrounding something, "What is with all of the commotion?" Jas asked.

Spyro and Cynder were landing not far from Hunter and Jas, Hunter said, "I don't know but we'll find out."

Jas, Hunter, Spyro, and Cynder pushed their way to the center of the crowd. As they got closer to the center they could see two teenage boys tied together, the mayor was ranting on about the boys, "What shall we do with these conjurers?"

From the crowed on man shouted, "Take them to the temple!"

Another exclaimed, "Why go through all the bother, lets just kill them now!"

Jas was pushing through the crowed and finally got to the centre. One of the boys who was tied up was a tall teen with brown hair and the other was shorter with shorter brown hair. Jas couldn't believe her eyes, "Evan! Steve! What are you doing here?"

The tall boy looked up, "Jas? Is that you? We all though you were dead."

"What are you talking about? I was only gone about two weeks." Jas asked.

Steve spoke next, "Jas, you and Owen have been missing for six months now."

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Owen and Ace were still in the Dragon Blood temple and Ace's reservoir of tears had finally emptied. "Owen, son, you have no idea how much your words mean to me." Ace said happy that Owen accepted him.

"I know dad, I don't mean to break up this touching reunion but how do I get human again?" Owen asked.

Ace stood up wiping away his tears, "Not just yet, before I tell you, you have to learn how to fly."

Owen laughed, "Oh wait your serious?"

"Yes, I am." Ace then transformed into a dragon, Owen cringe remembering how painful it was, "Don't worry, the first time is always the worst." Ace lead the way outside of the temple. When they were outside the temple Ace said, "Alright, now when I learned how to fly Ignitus told me to let the…now how did he say it? Something about the power of the Ancestors flow in you, I don't remember, all I know is that it didn't work for me."

"Wait you had Ignitus as a mentor?" Owen asked.

Ace then said, "Yes, it was about the time that Ignitus became an elder. Anyways it didn't work for me and I am going to show you how I learned."

Owen then said jokingly, "Your not going to push me off a cliff and hope of the best are you?"

Ace chuckled, "Now there is a thought, but no. In all reality, all I want you to do is close your eyes and start flapping your wings." Owen did as Ace instructed, "Now imagine yourself weightless, know that you are no longer bound to the ground." Owen once again did as instructed and felt the ground leave his feet. "There you go." Ace said proudly.

Owen opened his eyes to see that he was hovering a few feet in the air, "I'm doing it!" he exclaimed excited that he accomplished the foreign task of flying.

"Now to fly in any direction tilt both of your wings in that direction and you will go that way." Ace said and took flight himself, "Don't forget that your tail can be used as a ruder." Ace gained altitude and said, "Follow me." he then gained speed and headed towards town, looking back to make sure Owen was following.

Owen had troubles getting his bearings but soon enough the hang of it and was able to follow Ace. Owen was wobbling in the air trying to stabilize like Ace but had some trouble, "So how do I turn back into a human?"

Ace glanced over to Owen to see that he was flailing his legs, "Stop trying to use your legs for flying, it doesn't help and makes you look ridicules." Owen stopped flailing his legs and stabilized his flight, "There you go, as for turning back into an _elf_, all you have to do is think about being one, remember how you were before and vice versa. I wouldn't recommend doing it now though." Ace quickly added.

"Its that simple?" Owen asked.

Ace nodded, "Yup, what you expected a magic word or talisman?"

Owen said, "No, its just that it seems so continent." Ace chuckled and Owen asked, "Where are we heading anyway?"

"To the village, it is the perfect spot for landing." Ace said and he and Owen began their approach on the nearing village.

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"You know these…these…outsiders?" the mayor asked.

Jas nodded, "Yes and they are not Conjurers, Spies, Evil, Spawns of Darkness, or anything of the sort. Although how they got here is beyond me."

Steve then said, "We kind of know how we got here, but not exactly."

"Well out with it now!" the mayor said impatiently.

Evan said, "We would gladly tell you if you will stop yelling at us, and can somebody untie us?"

Jas pulled a raised her hand and said, "I can do that."

Steve asked, "Mind doing it sometime today?" Jas closed her eyes, her scares turned blue and her hand and the rope tying Steve and Evan together got a blue outline. "What are you doing?" Steve asked, Jas's eyes shot open and the rope snapped at a single point and unwound itself from Steve and Evan like a snake. The crowd gave a gasp of shock, Steve said as if he was face to face with death itself, "How…how did you do that?"

Jas lowered her hand and her scars, hand, and the rope returned to normal, "Long story short, I'm psychic."

The crowed gave a bigger uproar saying things like, "By the Ancestors." and, "Never in my life."

Jas, ignoring the comments, asked, "Mind telling us how you got here?"

Steve was dumbfounded, but Evan could struggle to talk, "Well after you and Owen disappeared weird things began to happen." Evan paused as the crowd quieted down to listen, "Like every now and then a black cloud would appear and take away anyone who was caught in it. One person got out of one and said that there was another world in them, we have been calling them portal storms ever since. Sometimes they are no bigger than a person and sometimes they are as big as a city." Evan paused as the crowed murmured among themselves, "But that is not the worse part." the crowd quieted, "Zombies, the living dead, have now come to be and attack any and all they can. They turn anyone, or anything, that is dead back to life and into one of them. We cannot stay in one place long due to the portal storms, and to make things worse they, the Zombies, are intelligent. It as if they retain their intellect, but they serve someone, a daemon they call him. He reigns fire from the sky and he cannot be stopped." the crowd was in silence.

"But how is this possible?" Cynder asked.

Steve and Evan both yelled, "Dragon!" and pushed their way out of he crowed.

The people in the crowed started to laugh and Jas sighed, "You will have to forgive them, we don't have dragons in our world." Jas then pushed her way through the crowd in the direction they went, "Hey hold on!" she yelled.

Jas broke out of the crowed to see Steve and Evan held fast in their tracks, in the distance two white dragons were approaching.

__

Ace saw the large group of people and asked, "I wonder what is all the commotion?"

Owen then asked as they approached, "Um dad? How do I land?"

"Try hovering as you approach the ground then just fall to the ground when you are close enough or just glide down" Ace said.

Owen could see the village approaching fast, "I don't think I can." Ace glided gently to the ground and Owen was still moving fast. He thought of how much easier it would be to tuck and role if he was human and started to think of his human features. Owen then felt his skin crawl and started to turn back into an human, or an elf rather. He impacted the ground and skidded a good ways leaving a small crater when he stopped, "Ow, that could have gone better." Owen got up and dusted himself off.

"O…Owen?" Owen turned around to see his old friends and the entire village staring at him.

Owen was startled to see them their and said, "Um, I can explain." although he really couldn't.

Evan pointed at Owen, "You head." Owen reached up to his forehead and felt a warm liquid, blood, then realized why they were staring.

Owen stood their and then said in a joking tone, "Don't worry about it."

Jas was behind Evan and Steve and ran up to Owen, when she got up to him she asked, "How did you do that?" Ace turned back into an elf and started to walk to Hunter whispering something to him.

"I will explain later when we don't have interlopers." he said the last part loud enough for everyone to hear. "But what I would like to know is why they are here." Owen said pointing at Steve and Evan. Owen started to walk towards them and asked, "Got some place to sleep?" the both shook their heads still shocked from the rapid suction of surprises, "Well then, I guess you will be staying with us, and by us I mean me, Jas, and those two." Owen pointed behind them. Cynder and Spyro were just emerging from the crowd.

Steve and Evan then yelled, "Dragons!" and tried to make a run for it.

Owen held out his arms and caught them by the back of their shirts, "Please save us all the trouble and don't try running away like I did. Besides I have been living with them for the past two weeks and nothing bad happened."

Cynder came up to them and said, "Hi, sorry we scared you." that was the last straw for Steve and Evan, they both gasped and fainted.

"I think you did a pretty good job." Owen said still holding on to the back of their shirts.

Cynder then said, "Speaking of which, what was with that back there."

The crowd inched closer, Owen then said loud enough for them to hear, "I will be glad to tell you," the crowd hushed, "Back at the temple."

The crowd gave an, "Aww." and Owen set Steve and Evan to the ground.

Ace was walking over and said, "Come on we have to get them to the temple." Ace then lifted Steve up and started heading to the temple. Owen did the same thing but let Evans feet drag on the ground.

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It was dark and Evan and Steve were laying on cots in and empty stone room. Steve was the first to wake up and he observed his surroundings, he then shook Evan awake and said, "Hey Evan, we have to get out of hear." Evan nodded and they headed for the window. As they opened it Owen dropped down from outside the window and landed in the room and Steve and Evan gave and, "Ahh!"

Owen smiled and said, "I wouldn't do that if I was you, trust me, you will probably end up here in the end." Steve and Evan darted for the door and Owen said, "Guys wait!"

Evan faced Owen, "What in the hell is going on? First we land in some weird ass town with psychotic people, next Jas does who knows what and dragons, dragons Owen! And your one of them or some other freaking thing, not to mention that you should be dead after crashing into the ground!" Steve was behind Evan nodding to what he was saying.

Owen sighed, "I can explain everything, or most of it, but after I told you what has happened to me you have to tell me what happened to you and how the hell you landed up hear." Evan and Steve nodded, "Well then make yourselves comfortable." Owen gestured to the cots and Evan and Steve reluctantly sat on them. Owen then explained all that has happened to him, along with a demonstration of his powers. "Now before you tell me your story, I want you to meet some friends of mine. They will not hurt you, I give you my word." Owen walked to the door and said, "Come on."

Owen led Steve and Evan to the vision pool room, when they entered the door was closed behind them by Ace. There was six dragons, a cat man, Jas, and of course Ace in the room. "Hello." said the red dragon, "My name is Ignitus."

Steve and Evan were frozen in their tracks but had enough courage to say, "H…hi." everyone then introduced themselves and then Jas walked up to Owen.

"So Ace is your dad?" she asked.

Owen nodded and said, "I take it Ace told everyone. Yea, it will get some getting use to." Owen turned to his friends, "You can tell us your story now."

Steve and Evan gulped and started telling their story taking turns. They said how the Zombies started to appear around the same time as the portal storms. Also as much as they could about the shady figure who controls them, they only called him a fiend and a daemon. Most of it was about them and the survivors of their community traveling from one place to another. "And then we ended up here." Steve finished up.

"What do you think Ignitus?" Cyril asked.

Ignitus shook his head, "I don't know, but one thing is for sure, they spread of darkness, if it had not already, has taken controle of their world."

Owen spoke up, "There has to be some way to stop it."

"I don't know, but they always say where there is a will there is a way." Ignitus said and noticed Ace reading through a book, "What do you have their Ace?"

Ace looked up, "Portal Conjuring, It was the book I used to send Owen to Earth. I was reading if it said anything about Earth, besides it having a faster timeline than ours."

Ignitus shook a bit, "I think it would be best if we all get some sleep and then think about this in the morning." Everyone started to exit.

"Wait." Steve said, "Where are we suppose to sleep?"

Spyro said, "In what was suppose to be Owen's room, but we are tight on space so you two are going to have to share. Come on I'll show you the way, It was the room you were in before." Spyro then led the way to their room.

Almost everyone was gone and Ignitus said, "Owen can I have a word with you? You too Ace."

Owen and Ace paused, "Sure." they both said.

Ignitus waited until everyone else left then said, "This has to pertain more to Owen than you Ace but that book has something to do with what I am about to say." Ignitus paused, "That book, I have seen it before, and you gave it to me." He said to Owen.

Owen looked surprised but Ace said, "That is impossible. There were only three books ever created on this." he said holding up the book, "One was lost, nobody knows what happened to it, the other one the Chronicler possesses, and the last one belongs to me."

"That may be, but I have one none the less." Ignitus said calmly.

Ace was unconvinced, "Show me." Ignitus left the vision pool room and came back shortly after with a rougher version of Ace's book. Ace examined the book then said, "Well burn me alive." Ace paused flipping through the pages, "How exactly did you get it?" Ignitus then told Ace and Owen about his vision before he met Owen and everything that Owen said in his vision.

"Seeing that book, well I figured that it could not be avoided much longer and that you were ready. The shadows are restless, I can fell it, I'm sure you can to Ace." Ignitus said.

Ace glanced up at Ignitus, "More than you know." then he flipped the page and a piece of paper fell out, "What's this?" Ace picked up the paper and started to read it, "Its for you." and handed it to Owen.

Owen took the letter, it read,

_If you are reading this then you know that Ace is your father, Ignitus told you his vision, and Steven and Evan are in this realm. Anyways I want you to take note, everything you have to know or will know is in this book, take good care of it. After you are done reading this I want you to go to the temple library and get the history book of everything that has ever happened in this realm, it has no title, it is a black book with golden engravings on it, it is located in the very back of the top shelf in the tightest corner. Also take care, for a battle will come soon and consequences will be brought upon you. For both of our sakes don't die._

_From yourself truly,_

_Owen_

_P.S. We will meet even though if you don't know it is me, expect me when the sun is setting, the moon is crimson red with blood, and all hope is lost. Also this note was on page forty-nine._

Owen looked up, "It is from myself?" he asked awkwardly and read the letter aloud.

Ace then said, "Well that is just weird. What do you think?" he asked to Ignitus.

"I don't know, but we should take head to it. You should go and get that book, if it is there." Ignitus said.

Owen then darted out of the room into the library, he looked around and saw a bookcase tight in the corner and he ran up to it. He had a hard time getting to the top, but he managed, at the top he reached in behind the other books and felt a book behind them. From the feel of it, it was a large book, he pulled it out and saw a small jewelry box was on it. Curious he grabbed it and the book and dropped to the ground, he opened it to find two clear shears about the size of large marbles with a folded note under them. the top of the note read, _Read in the morning, I mean it, or you mean it,_ Owen decided it would be best to take its advice. Owen then headed back to the vision pool room with Ace and Ignitus still in it, "It was there, along with this." Owen said holding out the box, "It was on top of the book."

"Well what's in it?" Ace said.

Owen said, "Two clear orbs about the size of a marble, and a note saying to read it in the morning."

Ignitus said, "I think we should take its advice, and that we should all get a good nights sleep and prepare for this battle that is suppose to happen soon." Owen and Ace nodded, Ace handed Ignitus's copy of "Portal Conjuring" and headed out of the room. Owen headed to his room holding the two books and the box.

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**Whew, that was Chapter 8. Sorry if it seems that the chapters are getting bigger, I can't help myself. Anyways Chapter 9 will be out soon, hopefully, regardless it will come out eventually.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I only own those on my profile page, nobody else. You may notice some Nickleback themes and a reference to Captain America in here and I do not own any Nickleback or Captain America rights. Nickleback rules!**

**----------**

**Chapter 9: Battle**

It was early in the morning and Spyro had just woken up, he noticed that Owen was still sleeping. Spyro decided to take a walk in the garden before training started, he made his way to the garden and had the eerie feeling of being watched, but he disregarded it. He turned on the path and found himself face to face with a black hooded figure. "Who are you?" Spyro questioned the stranger, but got no response.

Spyro was about to further question the figure but a voice to his right caught his attention, "Morning Spyro." he turned to see Cynder, "Who were you talking to?" she questioned him.

Spyro turned his head, "I don't know but…" Spyro realized that nobody was in front of him, "he's gone!" Cynder gave him a concerned look, "I swear somebody was right here, in a black cloak."

Cynder started walked to Spyro, when she got there she said, "I think you have been working a little to hard."

Spyro glanced to where the cloaked figure was standing but still saw nobody, "You are probably right." Spyro paused noticing Cynder's features then stuttered, "C…care to walk with me?"

Cynder smiled seeing how Spyro stuttered, "Sure." Spyro and Cynder then continued down the path.

When Spyro and Cynder were farther down the path the black figure stepped out from behind a tree and stared at them through shrouded eyes.

__

Owen woke up to find himself alone with Boe. He sat up and stretched then noticed the box on his night stand. Owen thought to himself_, Well it did say in the morning,_ and removed the note from the box. It read_,_

_If you are reading this then you are alone in your room in the early morning. Anyways the box contained two spheres, they are called portal gems, one is for you and one is for Spyro. Do not attempt to use them until you find the Bands of Time, trust yourself on this one, the book you received from Ignitus explains more, page one hundred fifty two. Also you wanted to let yourself know that a new ally will come to aid you in battle._

_From, once again, yourself truly,_

_Owen_

Owen's curiosity once again got the best of him and he reached for the "Portal Conjuring" book, he opened it to page one hundred fifty two and some notes were on the margin, _Bands of time, possible for time traveling, combined with portal gems they can let the wearer travel freely through time, space, and dimensions. Two bands are required to perform any action, to use one simply needs to be wearing them, strike them together and say, "Bands of Time", it is possible for one person to wear one and someone else another. They then simply need to strike to bands together and say at the same time, "Bands of Time". Note, if with two people, they both need to think of the same destination or nothing will happen. _Owen then saw that the page was about portal gems and how to use them, to sum it up they work about the same as the Bands of Time except one need to only hold it in there palm and desire to be any dimension or location.

Owen looked up as the door opened, it was Jas, "Are you coming for training?" she asked.

The though of training never came across him mind, "Sorry, forgot about that." Owen got up and placed the book and box on the night stand.

"What was that?" Jas asked.

Owen headed to the door and noticed that Boe was right behind him, "Um, I'll explain on the way." Owen stepped out of the room then back in, "Forgot my sword." he grabbed hi sword and walked out. On the way to the training Owen explained what the book was and what he was reading. As they passed Evan and Steve's room Owen asked, "Think they are up?"

Jas shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know." Jas went over to the door and knocked, "Wake up time for training!"

They waited a few seconds then the door opened, it was Evan, "What is with the early wake up?" he stiffed through a yawn.

Owen said, "Come on time to train."

Evan then asked sleepily, "What?"

"Training you know." Owen then pulled out his sword and fenced with and imaginary opponent.

Evan was leaning on the door frame, "I think I'll pass Mr. Knight."

Owen then sheathed his sword, "That is Sir Knight to you, and don't you forget it." he said jokingly. "Now come on." Owen said and Evan groaned.

__

Spyro and Cynder were sitting on a grassy hill and the sun was rising. Spyro sighed and said, "The time has passed so quickly in the past year, and I am glad it was with you. Now I am starting to think of why I didn't tell you sooner." Cynder looked up at Spyro, "I just wanted you to know," Spyro paused, "that your never going to be alone as long as I'm with you." Spyro blushed a little, and Cynder did to, "If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall. If it feels like all hope is gone, I'll hold you until the hurt is gone." Spyro's face was red and so was Cynder's, although her dark scales covered it a bit, "Cynder, I can't live without you. I lo…"

Cynder put one claw up to his lips, "You talk to much." she removed her claw and brought her lips up to his and they shared their first kiss. The moment was perfect and neither of them wanted it to end.

__

Everyone, except Spyro and Cynder, were in the training room and Evan and Steve were struggling to stay awake. It was Cyril's turn to supervise training today, Steve said through a yawn, "Why do we have to get up so early? We aren't even doing anything."

"Well some people are usually not this late." Owen said.

Ace then stepped forward, "Well before they get here I want to teach Evan and Steve some techniques so they won't be completely defenseless. Owen, will you assist me?"

Owen got up and said, "Sure thing."

"I just want to show them some basic blocks and strikes, nothing fancy." Ace said and splashed some water from his water skin on Steve and Evan.

"That's cold!" Evan said surprised.

Ace smiled and asked, "Now that you are awake will you be joining us?"

Steve said, "Like we have a choice." Evan paired up with Ace and Steve with Owen. "Great, now what am I suppose to do, punch you?"

Owen nodded, "Just try for starters."

"Smart ass, your reflexes were always for shit." Steve said a little annoyed.

"Just try me." Owen said with a grin. Steve ran up to Owen preparing to hit him, Owen had other plans and did the same trick Ace did when he first fought him. A few seconds later Steve was on the ground, "Told you so." Steve got up and dusted himself off, for the next few minutes Ace and Owen taught Steve and Evan the basics of real fighting.

__

Spyro and Cynder were still kissing, Spyro's face was so red that it could be classified as a new color. Cynder and Spyro pulled away and Cynder said leaning on Spyro, "You have no idea how long I have waited for that."

Spyro was stuttering for awhile then regained his ability to speak, "I love you Cynder. You mean everything to me. It's just, I didn't know how you would act. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I was worried tha…"

Spyro was cut off again but Cynder who kissed him again on the lips, this one was shorter, "You talk to much." she smiled at Spyro, "Come on lets go to training before someone notices we're missing." Spyro smiled back at Cynder sheepishly. They both made their way to the training room, tails intertwined.

As they entered the training room they were confronted by Cyril, "I hope you two have a reasonable explanation for being so late."

"Well…you see…um…we were…uh…" Cynder said stuttering.

Cyril backed up and examined them both, "Lets see, stuttering, blushing, sweat on brow, tied tails," Spyro and Cynder's tails separated, "and Spyro has a stupid smile." Cyril paused thinking then said, "Good, for you both."

"What do you mean?" Spyro said trying to hide his smile.

"Don't take me for a fool I know vary well the situation at hand. If it makes you feel any better my lips are sealed, now get a hold of yourselves and get in the ring." Cyril said.

Ace finished basics with Steve and Evan and said, "Well now that everyone is here we can go now, Owen come on we don't have all day."

"What for?" Owen asked.

Ace replied, "Well your landing is more to be desired and I though we would practice flying today."

Owen grinned, "I thought I did pretty good yesterday."

"Ha ha, now lets go." Ace said and headed for the door then turned, "Oh and Jas, make sure those two don't hurt themselves."

"You can count on me." Jas said, Owen and Ace then headed outside.

__

Nexus was looking out on the balcony when he herd foots steps from behind him, "Have you scouted the temple?" he asked.

Behind Nexus was a figure in a black cloak, he spoke in a young male voice "I have, they don't suspect a thing."

"Good, good." Nexus said with an evil grin.

The figure in black spoke up, "After I help you, you will tell me where he is, right?"

Nexus turned around to face him, "That was our deal, was it not?" the back figure said nothing, "As long as you hold up your end of the bargain, then so will I." Nexus then turned back to the balcony, "Prepare my forces, we shall depart soon." the dark figure then exited to room, "Nothing will stand in my way."

__

"For pities sake Owen." Ace said disappointed, Owen was face down in the ground, "How many times do I have to tell you, glide to the ground."

Owen got up dusting himself off, "Sorry, how do you glide again?"

Ace rubbed his head, "Owen, turn back into a dragon please." Owen did and Ace walked over to him. He placed his hands on Owen's wing joints and pushed slightly, "Lock your wings, now try again." Owen flew up and looped around and tried to land again, as he did he just hovered in the air. "What is the matter?" Ace asked.

"There is an army in the distance." Owen said hovering.

Ace ran, jumped then turned into a dragon in midair and flew up by Owen, "Where?" he asked.

Owen pointed to the west, "There, you don't think…"

"Yes I do." Ace interrupted, "Come on we have to warn the others."

__

"She scares me." Steve said, Cynder had just finished her turn against the dummies.

Evan said, "Just be glad she is on our side, I think."

Sparx flew up to them, "You better watch yourselves so she doesn't slit your throats at night."

"Sparx, nock it off." Spyro said.

"What? All you said was to stop calling her names." Sparx responded, Spyro just shook his head and groaned.

The door flew open and Owen rushed in, "There is an army is approaching the temple. Ace went to tell the other elders, we have to prepare."

Cyril then rushed out of the training room, "What do you plan on doing?" Evan asked.

Jas picked up some rocks and put them in a pouch on her hip, "Fight back, if they mean us harm."

Ace rushed in and pointed at Steve and Evan, "You two, sword, ax, club or bow?"

"What?" they both asked.

"For fighting." Ace said.

Evan paused but then asked, "Do you have a hammer?"

"I'll try and find one, how about you?" Ace said to Steve.

Steve thought a moment, "Um…oh how about two shields with sharp edges?"

Ace looked at Steve funny, "I'll do my best." he then ran out of the room.

"What did you want?" Owen asked.

Steve said, "You know, like Captain America."

Evan smacked Steve across the head, "You idiot, this isn't a cartoon. At least I asked for what I used against Zombies."

Steve rubbed his head, "Well sorry, I just thought that their supply of guns was short, as in, none."

Ace came rushing in with a bag, "Here." he said and handed a hammer to Evan and two shields to Steve, "I brought this for you." he pulled out five individual one foot long poles and attached them to each other forming a staff and handed it to Jas.

"What is it?" Jas asked.

"A monks staff." Ace said, "It is collapsible and has hidden blades in each section that, when you push a button, they come out." Ace pointed to a button on each section of the staff, he pushed on the one on the end and a blade came out about seven inches long and an inch wide. "It should accommodate your powers vary well, here is the sheath." Ace held out a leather pouch with a strap, he opened it to make the five holding spots for each section of the staff visible.

Jas took the pouch and fastened it to her hip, "Thank you." she said and then, using her powers, retracted the blade.

Spyro then urged them, "Come on we have to hurry." just then they herd an explosion somewhere in the temple.

Ignitus came running in, "We are under attack."

Everyone rushed outside to see that the sky had darkened and a mass of undead marching to the temple. Steve stuttered, "Are those, Zombies?''

Evan rested his hammer on his shoulder, "Oh come on Steve grow a pair. It is just like killing them on Earth."

Owen spoke up, "Just don't die." Owen looked closer at the army, "What is that?" he asked pointing above the army. Everyone followed his gaze to see a dark orb floating above the army. "It's evil, I can feel it."

"We are doing nothing standing here, Owen your with me, Jas your with Steve and Evan, Spyro and Cynder flank them from the left, Ignitus get all of the elders and bombard the army from the sky. Everyone got that?" everyone nodded, "Good, now lets go." Ace leapt into the air and turned into a dragon and Owen followed. Everyone else did as instructed and headed into battle. "Owen, try to take out as many as you can, I'm going to take out that orb." Owen nodded and started to descend.

Owen thought to himself,_ I hope this works, _he then turned to an elf and started to summon his power into his right hand. The energy built and built and the sphere of light grew bigger and bigger. As he got closer to the ground he put out his arm in front of him pointing to the ground.

__

Jas, Evan, and Steve were running to the army when they saw a light falling from the sky, "What's that?" Steve asked.

"Its Owen!" Jas said. They saw Owen hit the ground and a shockwave blasted from his point of impact killing anything that was close enough and knocking down anything else. Everyone staggered as the blast hit them, "Come on." Jas said and ran in Owen's direction.

__

Owen got up and cracked his neck, "Wow, that actually worked." Owen crawled out of his crater and was greeted by Zombies in armor and wielding weapons. "Hi boys, mind giving me a hand?" the hoard closed in on him with hostile faces, "No? Well then let me give you one." Owen propelled himself out of the crater and directed his light to his fist setting them ablaze with white fire. He then punched the nearest Zombie and crushed its face in, "Next." Owen then fought the undead and noticed that some were flying in the air some ways from him, they had a bluish glow to them. He made his way to the direction they were being thrown from. He got closer, then a blade impaled a Zombie and saw that Jas was a close to him.

Jas saw Owen and said, "Owen! Are you ok?"

"Never better." Owen said.

"Look out!" Evan said and swung his hammer crushing the Zombies head that was about to strike Jas.

Steve then appeared out of the crowd of undead after lopping it's head off with his shield, "These are nice." he said.

Owen pulled out his sword and swung it sending a crescent shape beam of light that sliced several Zombies in half, "Can you all manage?" he asked.

Jas had reattached the blade on the end of her staff and was impaling a Zombie, "We can use your help." a Zombie was about to hit Steve, Jas disconnected the end of her staff and threw it at the Zombie, guided by her powers, the blade extended and hit the Zombie in the head. The section of the staff then reattached itself, blade end out.

Owen said, "Alright." and sliced the head off his opponent, sword ablaze with light. Owen then felt something puncture through his chest, he looked down to see a blade sticking out of it. He fell to the ground gasping for breath and the blade was retracted, he could hear his killer laughing. White steam closed his wound and healed his internal injuries, Owen took in a breath then exhaled, he breathed out the white steam that healed his lungs, "Big mistake." he got up and turned to face his slayer.

The Zombie face was speechless, "You should be dead." it rasped.

"Next time, try harder." Owen said and cleaved it in half.

Jas rushed to his side, "Are you alright?" Owen nodded, "It's horrible, when I heard its voice, it was like the shriek of the damn."

"I can hear them just fine. They are all in pain, they beg to be put to rest." Owen said.

Jas stabbed a Zombie, "I can't hear it, it sounds like a foreign language to me."

"Strange, I can hear them all speak English." Owen then tackled Jas to the ground and shot a beam of light from his hand hitting the Zombie that almost hit them, "We'll worry about it latter."

Steve helped them and pointed to the sky, "Owen, your dad."

Owen looked in the direction he was pointing, he saw his father falling from the sky, "NO!" Owen then leaped into the air turning into a dragon. He flew as fast as he could, from his right he saw Terador heading for Ace.

Terador caught Ace and Owen got to them, "I got him, you have to destroy that thing. It seems to be controlling the army." Terador said nodding to the dark orb in the air.

Owen nodded and flew off to the orb getting above it. "Lets just see how unorthodox you really are." Owen said to himself, he flew above the dark orb and did a back flip while turning into an elf. He concentrated all of his energy into his sword, it hummed with power, as he got closer he raised it above his head getting ready to strike it. The orb was with in reach, releasing all the energy in his sword and he struck the orb, the sword impacted but nothing happened. _I need to give it more power,_ Owen thought to himself, he increased the intensity and the orb started to crack, _more_, increasing it even more the sword dug deeper, _more_, pushing himself to his limits he gave all he got and the orb spider webbed with cracks. There was a pause then the orb shattered revealing a pale man.

The man turned, "What?" he saw Owen, "Impossible." then they both were sent plummeting to the ground. Owen impacted the ground and felt nearly every bone in his body break, he cried in pain, but it was only for a short while for his powers healed him. The man landed on his feet as though he only fell a few feet, "Impressive, but all in vain, no mortal can survive that fall." the man turned and started to walk away.

Owen got up, "Wait!" the man turned, "I'm not done just yet." Owen said.

"You should be dead!" the man said with and evil sneer, "What are you?"

Owen dusted himself off, "Determined." Owen picked up his sword that was a few feet away and set it ablaze with light "Who are you?"

The man then smiled, "You're the one, the one who killed the Nightwalkers. You surviving that fall gives me even more reason to make you my slave. I am called Nexus, but soon you will be calling me Master."

Owen readied himself in a defensive position, "Your not turning me into a Zombie."

"Who said anything about that?" Nexus said, he than reached for a dagger, but instead of metal it was bone and had teeth of a carnivorous animal on one edge. Nexus then charged at Owen with blinding speed. Owen just had enough time to get his sword up and block his attack, Nexus then extended his arm behind him and his bone sword emerged from his palm. Owen then pushed Nexus away and readied for the next attack, Nexus now had his sword in his right hand and the dagger in his left. Owen prepared for Nexus to charge but one moment Nexus was in front of him and the next he was behind him. Owen had enough time to turn around and block Nexus's sword, but the dagger found its mark and the teeth dug into his chest, there they were locked.

Owen thought quickly, _Desperate times call for desperate measures, _Owen then pulled back his head and brought it forward smacking it right on Nexus's forehead. Nexus with drew and pulled the dagger out of Owen taking some flesh wit it. Owen held his sword with his right hand and his chest with his left, he removed his hand as the steam started to seep through his fingers and his wound started to close.

"So that's how it is." Nexus said, "You will find yourself in even greater pain in three, two, one." Nexus said with an evil grin.

Almost as if on command Owen fell to the ground in pain clenching his chest. Owen was fighting the pain, "What is this, poison?"

"Of a sort, now you be a good dog and stay there." Nexus said mockingly.

A dagger came flying at Nexus but he quickly avoided it, "Get away from him!" Jas then rushed to Owen's side, "Are you alright?" she asked Owen and levitated the part of her staff that she threw at Nexus and reattached it.

Owen was trying to contain a spasm, "I could be better."

Nexus stabbed his sword into the ground and sheathed the dagger "Ah, the real reason why I am here." Nexus said, he then pointed his left hand at her, Jas froze. Nexus smiled and rose her into the air with his dark magic.

Jas tried to free herself, "Are you psychic?" she asked.

Nexus laughed, "If I was I wouldn't be going through all this trouble to get one." Nexus held his right hand close in front of him palm up, a back orb, darker than the darkest night, appeared in his hand, about the size of an orange. "Now as a gentleman I won't lie to you, this will hurt." Nexus brought Jas closer, "A lot." Nexus drew back his had prepared to thrust it into Jas's chest.

Owen, using every fiber of his being, stood up and started to run at them, "NO!" he yelled and jumped in front of Nexus taking the black orb into his chest. Owen was on the ground in the fettle position screaming in pain.

Nexus let Jas fall to the ground, "Fool! For that you will be punished!" Nexus grabbed his sword and prepared to strike Owen. Just then out of nowhere a black crescent shaped beam flew at Nexus, it would have hit him if he wouldn't have dodged, dust was thrown into the air. "Who did that?!"

"This has gone way to far Nexus!" the dust settled to revile a figure in a black cloak, he held a sword with black inscriptions on the blade and a motorcycle brake handle for the handle.

Nexus was furious, "Traitor! You serve me!"

"I serve no one." the man then rushed at Nexus, his sword was aflame with a black fire. Nexus dodged, but the cloaked mans target wasn't Nexus. Jas was by Owen's side and the cloaked figure landed next to them, "Are you alright?" he asked.

Jas said, "I am, but I am not sure about Owen. Who are you."

The figure removed his hood to revile a teenage face no older than Owen, he had spiked, midnight black, hair and blue eyes, "I am a friend." he then blocked an attack by Nexus and preformed a reverse.

Nexus then backed up and saw two dragons coming from the distance, "This is not over!" he then turned and propelled himself upward with dark energy.

The cloaked teen then threw his sword into the ground and ran after him, "Your not getting away from me!" he leapt into the air and he turned into a black dragon, his cloths merging with his body, being covered up with his scales.

Spyro and Cynder landed close to Owen and Jas, "Who is that?" Spyro asked rushing to Owen's side.

Jas helped get Owen up, "Which one?"

Ace then landed a little ways away, "Owen! What happened?" Jas shook her head, "Come on we have to get him to the temple." Ace then turned into a dragon and knelt down so Jas could get on him with Owen.

Cynder then asked, "Wait, what about the army?"

Ace took flight, "They seem to be retreating. Take as many out as you want, but I have to get Owen to the temple." then Ace sped off to the temple.

"What do you want to do?" Cynder asked.

Spyro then said, "We are both tired, we wouldn't take out that many even if we could. Come on lets go back to the temple."

__

It was late in the temple and everyone that needed to be bandaged up was. Lucky for the dragons, all they needed was a few life gems. Steve, Evan, and Jas on the other hand, weren't so fortunate. Evan had some nasty cuts and hit his head on the ground when he fell, Steve's arms were unsaved, but his legs were cut up pretty bad, Jas had a few scraps but was ultimately unharmed. The one who took the most damage was Owen, although he could heal, he was unconscious and would not come to. "It is all my fault." Jas said sitting against a wall.

Cynder walked up to her, "It's not you fault." everyone was waiting in the hallway outside of the infirmary in the temple.

"She is right you know." everyone turned to see a figure in a black cloak.

Spyro then said, "You were the one in the garden this morning. Who are you?" he demanded.

The figure removed his hood to reveal his face, "My name is Chad, and the one you should be blaming is Nexus." Chad pointed at the infirmary door, "He is the reason my brother is in there unconscious."

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**How is that for the end of a chapter? Thanks for reading, please review and tell me how you liked it. Sorry but I am not that good with romance, I'm still working on that. Chapter 10 out soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright Chapter 10, I have been wanting to write this Chapter since I started this story, and now the disclaimer. I only own those on my profile page, none of the Spyro characters. This chapter is based on E Nomine's song Wolfen, or Das Tier In Mir, the song seems hypnotic to me but whatever, I do not own any copyrights to the song.**

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**Chapter 10: The Cures**

Everyone was silent, "What?!" everyone asked, ok I lied.

Jas got up, "There is no way, I have known Owen all my life and he never had a brother."

"That goes for us." Evan and Steve said.

Chad chuckled, "He said you would say that."

"What do you mean?" asked Spyro.

Chad stepped forward, "I can't say much but where I come from, Earth, it is in ruin."

Evan spoke up, "We know, we were there."

"That may be true but not Jas and Owen, at least not yet." Chad said and could see unconvinced looks on their faces, "Look, I know what you are thinking but I can't tell you everything, he told me not to."

Cynder then said, "And by 'him' you mean Owen." Chad nodded, "Your brother." Chad nodded again, "Ok, so tell me this one thing, how can he be on Earth and here at the same time?"

"The Bands of Time." Jas said bluntly, everyone looked at her, "Owen was telling me about them this morning. They can let anyone travel through time. Hold on I will go and get it." Jas then left the hallway and went to Owen's room.

"So why are you here?" Steve asked.

Chad replied, "I cannot answer that."

"Ok, what is it like back on Earth?" Steve asked.

"I cannot answer that." Chad said again.

"What can you tell us?" Spyro asked.

Chad grinned, "Ask the right question."

Steve shook his head, "Forget it."__

Jas was in Owen's room and found the "Portal Conjuring" book on the night stand. She picked it up and started to flip through the pages when a note fell out, she picked it up, it said, _To Jas, _on the front. She opened it and began to read it,

_Jas, if you are reading this then I am unconscious and Chad is here and nobody believes him. If you want to find out the truth look in your "Illustrations on Psychics" book, page two fifty six, also put this note back on page ninety eight in this book. Please put this book back were you found it and don't show it to the others, Thanks._

_From,_

_Owen_

Jas's hand shook as she read the letter, _how could he know I was going to show them and about Chad, unless he didn't write it yet,_ Jas thought for a moment then put the note on its proper page and put the book back on the night stand. She then went to her room to get her book and opened it to page two hundred fifty six and another note fell out, she picked it up, it was in her handwriting.

_If you are reading this then you have just read Owen's note, yes Chad is Owen's brother, but you won't know that for sure until Ace comes out of the infirmary because you will not believe this note._

_Form yourself,_

_Jas_

_P.S. put this in Owen's book on page ninety eight and tell him about it as soon as you can. Now hurry before Ace gets out of the infirmary._

Jas then closed the book and ran to Owen's room, _What is going on here?_

__

Ace walked out of the infirmary, elf, and let out a long sigh, "I don't know what is wrong with him. I tried everything that I could but he still won't come to." Ace looked at everyone in the hallway then noticed Chad, "Who is this?" he asked.

Evan said, "He claims to be Owen's brother, which would make him your son."

Jas came rushing around the corner, Chad didn't even notice her and said to Ace, "Hi dad, I just got done talking to you a few days ago but you haven't seen me in fourteen years."

Ace paused and thought then asked, "Your Chad?" Chad nodded, "So if I haven't seen my son in fourteen years, how did you talk to me a few days ago?"

"Those who come in contact with the Bands of Time are no longer bound to the cycle." Chad said calmly.

Ace stepped forward and examined Chad, "I know that you are not lying, but why did you come here? What was it that brought you here?"

Chad then pointed to the infirmary door, "He did, he said that it was vital for me to come here, and he was right. If I didn't stop Nexus when I did, well, lets just say that Owen might be more than unconscious."

Ace patted Chad on the shoulder, "Welcome home, I always new that you would return." Ace paused then under his breath said, "Cursed Fate and Destiny." nobody heard Ace, "We all should get some rest, it was a long day."

Jas stepped forward, "Can I stay with Owen, its my fault that this happened to him."

"Alright, but let him get his rest if he wakes up." Ace said. Everyone departed and Jas entered the infirmary, it was a fairly large room and on a single bed lied Owen. Jas went up to Owen and placed her hand on Owen's for head.

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault." Jas said and then settled herself on one of the open beds and fell asleep.

__

The next few days Owen's condition did not improved. Jas was constantly by his side and her meals were brought to the infirmary and she constantly reading in her book seeing if there was anything that she could do in her power to help. In the vision pool room the elders and Ace were discussing Owen's condition, "He shows no internal or external injuries, I sense no poison or other afflictions, it just appears that he is asleep." Ace said rubbing his head.

"Well we need to find out what is the problem before the temple is attacked again." Terador said.

Jas came running into the room, "I think I found out a way to help Owen." she said, everyone's attention was on her.

"Well do tell us the anticipation is killing me." Cyril said.

Jas then said, "I can try and enter Owen's mind and try to find out what is the problem from the inside."

Ace walked up to Jas, "Are you sure about this?" Jas nodded, "Well then lets go.

__

Jas, Ace, Chad, and Ignitus were inside the infirmary, "I have not tried this before, ever, so I need complete silence." Jas said and placed her hand on his for head and closed her eyes concentrating. She cleared all of her senses and soon she was not aware of anything around her, just the consciousness of Owen's mind. Jas opened her eyes to find that all was dark, _"Did I do it?"_ she thought to herself and was surprised that what she thought she said, "Great, everything I think I say." Jas wandered around in the black void until she saw in the distance a figure floating in the air, Jas realized that it was Owen. "Owen!" Jas exclaimed and started to run towards him, as she got closer she saw that he wasn't floating, but was suspended by black chains that coiled around his body and extended into the void, his legs were pointing to the ground and his arms were outstretched, his body was limp.

Owen looked up, "Jas? What are you doing here?" he said weakly.

"I came to help, you have been unconscious since the battle." Jas said.

Owen gave a weak laugh, "I'm beyond help." Jas started to walk forward, "Don't!" Jas stopped, "Jas, you can't help me, nobody can. Now leave before it is to late."

"I'm not leaving you!" Jas said forcefully.

"Jas I…" Owen's face showed pain and he grabbed the chains, head down he said, "Jas…run."

Jas then saw Owen thrashing in his confinements and herself being thrown back. Jas blinked and realized that she was no longer in Owen's mind, but in the infirmary. She looked over at the bed to see Ace and Chad holding Owen down, trying to contain his spasm. "Hold him." Ace said to Chad.

Owen's body started to changes, his nails turned into sharp claws, his teeth more pointed, his gentle face was now fierce and savage, and his eyes, his eyes had the ferocity of a wild animal and shown yellow. As sudden as Owen's spasm started it ended and he was now once again unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Ignitus asked Jas.

Jas stood up, "I think so, what happened to Owen?" she asked pointing to Owen.

Ignitus shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine, better even. What did you see?" Jas then explained her experience in Owen's mind. "I'm afraid that all I can decipher from your description is that he is a prisoner in his own mind, and that he is changing. I fear that there is little we can do." Ignitus then exited and Ace walked over to Jas.

"You did your best, you did more than anyone of us could do." Ace said trying to comfort her. Ace and Chad then left and Jas positioned herself by Owen's side.

__

Owen was chained as before but his features have changed. Nexus then appeared out of the darkness, "Still resisting are we?" Owen gave a growl that was more vicious than any normal human could perform, "Now now you'll just make it worse. Have you reconsidered my offer? May I remind you that the curse will only get worse if you deny."

"Yes I have, come closer and I will tell you, I assure you it is the right choice." Nexus walked closer to Owen, he was face to face. Owen then spited in Nexus's face, "I'll never join you, you basted! I would rather take this fucking curse and end up dead!"

Nexus wiped his face, "You will ever regret defying me dog!"

"Go shove it up your ass." Owen said.

"You forget that I control your mind." Nexus then held up his hand to Owen's chest. Owen's chest glowed purple where he took in the black sphere.

Owen then felt strong urge to join Nexus, to accept him as his master. Owen was about to give in when he felt a cool touch, Jas's. His confidence began to rise, "No, this is my mind! It is my choice! And my choice is to kill you!" Nexus's face had fear on it. Light started to irradiate from Owen and Nexus disappeared. Owen's body went limp, "How much more must I endure?" Owen sighed.

Owen then herd a pure voice ring in his mind, "In the ancient moonlit woods in my dwelling. It is in the lighted woods under the stars." Owen saw a woman in a white fur robe with long white hair. Owen woke up to find Jas laying her head by his chest, he touched her face careful not to scratch her. The voice rang in his head, he felt and uncontrollable urge to obey. He silently got out of bed and snuck out into the hallway and made his way to the balcony. The moon was full and bright, it seemed more beautiful than he remembered.

__

"Disobey me! He will pay indeed." Nexus said and went to his balcony and began to chant, "Dark clouds and dark thoughts, with the full moon I break the barrier. Greed for flesh is now your desire, the lust for blood is now your passion. With the power of the night kindle the hunter within!"

__

Owen was on the ground, his body was in pain, he was changing. His body bulged making him more muscular ripping his shirt and pants, his legs became more in the likeness of a large cats or dogs, and his face elongated. The hunger for flesh was uncontrollable and he tried to control it but was unsuccessful. He screamed about to lose control but the voice rang in his head and he regained control of himself. He darted off on all four.

__

Jas herd a scream and woke up, Owen was gone. Jas was shocked and ran out into the hallway, some of the others in the temple were already moving and Jas found Cynder, "What was that?" she asked.

Cynder froze, "That." Jas followed her gaze to see a creature darting off down the hall.

__

Nexus was continuing with the chant, "Strange thought, wild lust. The desire for the meat of the animal, the desire to tear, to bite, to shred withered flesh!" Nexus finished up the ritual, "Go, turn into the creature of the night, the terror of all and the works of nightmares. Forget all you once knew, embrace the hunter." Nexus turned and exited the balcony.

__

Owen made it outside the temple and felt his body change again. He sprouted a tail and began to grow grey fur all over his body, ears came out of the top of his head, his final appearance was part wolf part man, a werewolf. In his mind he heard become the animal, "I am the animal!" he kept on shouting until he turned all werewolf where it then developed into a howl. Owen herded footsteps from behind him and turned around. He saw his friends, his family, and his mentors.

Ace drew a bow with an arrow and pulled backed aimed at Owen. Jas looked into the beast eyes, then with startled realization knew it was Owen. Jas shoved Ace over as he shot messing it up, "Don't shoot!" she exclaimed.

Owen heard the voice in his head again and without a second thought ran off into the forest.

__

"What the hell?!" Ace asked, "I had a perfect shot."

"You can't kill him." Jas said.

Ace grabbed her by both arms, "Do you realize what that was? That was a werewolf, they are vicious and will kill anything. Now you better have a damn good reason you made me miss!"

Jas was teary eyed, "It was Owen, that thing was Owen." Ace let go of Jas, "I don't know how, but I knew it was him."

Everyone was in shock, _Owen? A werewolf?,_ was what everyone was thinking, or something similar. "It just keeps on getting worse and worse." Ace said.

"What will we do now?" Cynder asked, "Do we go after him or let him go?"

Ace rubbed his head, "I don't know. We could try and capture him, but that would only cause more problems." Boe walked to the edge of the forest and howled.

__

Owen was running through the forest when he heard a howl, he understood it, it said, "Run and find her." The words gave him speed and he ran faster through the forest. His instincts wanted him to kill, to hunt, but he resisted and ran through the forest. Owen weaved in between the trees with blinding speed, everything was brighter, he could see things more clearly in the night now. His mind began to get fogy, he was losing his memory, he stopped and clenched his head trying to fight it. He realized that it was hopeless and then concentrated all of his thought into three things, his humanity, his name, and Jas. He could not and would not let those thing escape him, his vision flickered and he blacked out.

__

Boe got done howling, "I hope that Owen will be alright." Jas said.

Spyro then said, "I think that we should let him go, it is not safe to keep an animal caged."

"He is not an animal, he is just confused." Jas said trying to defend Owen.

Ace turned to Jas, "Jas, you have to realize that Owen is a werewolf now. Even if we catch him there is hardly any chance that he could be cured. We just have to hope for the best."

Jas turned and ran into the temple, Ace ran after her but was stopped by Chad, "It would be best for her to deal with this on her own, trying to help would only make things harder for her." Ace nodded and everyone filed into the temple, Chad stopped outside the temple, "May the wind be at your heals, for we will need you soon." then he disappeared into the temple.

__

Hunter caught Ace in the hallway, "What happened?" Ace then explained what has happened, "I must depart at once and warn my village."

"Safe travels to you friend, Ancestors know we all need it in this time of darkness." Ace said and then they departed from each other.

__

Owen woke in the forest and realized that it was morning, he got up and asked himself, _Where am I? Why can't I remember anything?_, Owen scratched his head and realized that he was still a werewolf, _What am I?_, Owen then heard the woman's voice in his head and felt the urge to run to her. _I must find her, maybe she can answer my questions, _he thought and ran, where he didn't know, but he felt that he was going in the right direction. He ran for the majority of the day and into the night until he came to a cave, he cautiously approached the cave. _She is close…how do I know that?_, he moved into the clearing in front of the cave. A woman in a white fur robe came out of the cave.

"You came, that's good." she walked out into the clearing, she had snow white hair and a young face, but her eyes shown wisdom of an ancient being. "Please come closer child." her voice was gentle but commanded authority, Owen slowly walked on all fours to her. "I am the Pack Mother, I have taken care of my kind for a millennia, and now I pass that care onto you." She placed her hand on Owen's head, "You don't remember who you were do you?" Owen whimpered, "Do not be sad child for what is lost can always be found." Owen then felt a strange sensation, he felt his body turn back into its original form.

Owen looked at his hands, then at himself, all that he wore was his torn pants that went down to his knees. Owen looked up, "Thank you Pack Mother." Owen paused, "My name is Owen." he grabbed his head, "How do I know that?"

The Pack Mother grabbed his hands a brought them down, "What is lost can always be found." she led him to the cave, "Come I have much to show you."

__

Chad was sitting on the balcony railing, "what are you doing so late?" Spyro asked.

Chad looked down at Spyro, "Waiting."

"For what?" Spyro asked.

"For him." Chad said and looked out on the horizon.

Spyro walked to the balcony, "Why?"

"Because I was told to." Chad said without looking at Spyro.

Spyro followed his gaze but only saw the forest bellow and the horizon, "You knew didn't you." Spyro asked.

Chad leaned back, "Yup."

"Why didn't you do anything to prevent it?" Spyro continued to question.

"I was have specific instruction to not interfere with anything until Owen returns." Chad said.

Spyro then asked, "Then why did you save Owen and Jas?"

"Because he told me to." Chad said leaning forward.

Spyro asked, "What else did he tell you?"

Chad sighed, "Look, you have questions and I don't have answers. Half of the stuff he told me to do doesn't make sense, he told me that his instructions will make sense when the time comes." Chad faced Spyro, "I don't even know when he is suppose to come back, all I know is that his instructions have been right so far and I am going to stick with them until I run out." Chad faced the horizon, "After this there is only one more left."

"What is that?" Spyro asked.

Chad turned around, "I can't tell you that."

Spyro yawned, "Fine I'm going to sleep, you can use Owen's hamm…"

"I don't need to sleep, but thanks for the offer." Chad said. Spyro then continued to his room.

Chad then faced the horizon, _Following orders, that is what I do, it is what I have always done_, he thought to himself.

__

Owen was lead down into the tunnel, it was dark but he could see fine. They passed many people along the way, all of them having some characteristic of a wolf to them. The Pack Mother led him into a room that had an animal skin tarp over the door. Owen entered to see that it was a large circular room and had a small lake at the far end. The Night Mother lead him to the lake, she pointed to it and said, "Look, what do you see?"

Owen crouched down and peered into the lake, he saw himself, his hair was long amd wild and his eyes were yellow, "I see myself, is that what I am suppose to see?" he asked.

"Look closer." she said and pointed at the lake again.

Owen gazed into the lake again, this time he looked closer. He saw the face of a wolf, "I see a wolfs head."

"And?" the Night Mother asked.

"It's just a wolfs head." Owen paused, "It's me isn't it?"

"It is not you." the Night Mother said, Owen looked up, "It is what you are, Owen you are special, you can control the wolf inside you. Do you want to know why?" Owen nodded, "Everyone has a spirit animal, yours is rare. You have the spirit of a wolf, the wolf is a leader, it is the hunter, and it is loving. The wolf is strong, the wolf is cunning, and the wolf is brave." Owen was staring at her, "In time you will become all of this, but first you will have to become the master of yourself."

Owen paused, "But I thought you said that I can control it."

"You have the power to control it, but you need to learn to be its master." the Night Mother said. She then walked over to the door, "You need your rest, come." Owen obeyed and followed her out and down further into the cave and they stopped at another tarp door, "You will sleep with the pack, be mindful, some are not as friendly as others." the Pack Mother then left Owen alone in front of the door.

Owen entered, he found himself in a large room with as many people as werewolves. As he entered a large man that looked more wolf than man was exiting, Owen was pushed out of the way, "Out of my way!"

Owen got up and dusted himself off, "Your new to the pack aren't you?" Owen looked up to see a guy around his age, all of his features were human except he had wolf ears on his head, he had grey hair and blue eyes.

Owen then said, "Um I guess so."

The teen shook Owen's hand, "Nice to meet you, names Tyler. My friends call me Ty."

Owen paused for a moment, "Same here, I'm Owen."

"Come on, I'll find you a safe spot to sleep." Ty said.

Owen followed Ty, "So how long have you been a werewolf?"

Ty said without stopping, "I don't know, say about five years." Ty lead Owen to the other side of the room, Owen could see werewolves and humans or combinations of both, all wearing torn cloths that covered their unmentionables. When they got to the other side Ty pointed to a group of nest, "Pick one, nobody will mind."

Owen sat in the one nearest to the wall, "Thanks Ty."

"Don't mention it." Ty then left Owen alone.

_I hope that I can remember who I was soon…I hope Jas is ok_, Owen grabbed his head, _How do I know that name, and why do I care if she if ok?_, he asked himself,_ Am I remembering parts of my past? I hope all will become clear soon._ Owen then slowly began to fall asleep, with one thing on his mind, who was he?

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**Thanks for reading, please review. For those who went out of the way to listen to the song, some may classify it as "Emo" or "Goth", I just want to let you know that I am not. The only reason I like it is because it is like the only werewolf song out there and that is why I like it. That out of the way, Chapter 11 will be out soon.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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**Chapter 11: Memory**

"What shall we do now?" A woman in a white cloak asked. She was seated at a round table with five other, three males and two females, the men wore black cloaks and the women wore white, they sat alternating black and white, all of them had there hoods up. There surroundings was all grey as far as the eye could see. "We cannot sit idly by, brothers you know what might happen if we do not act." woman1 said.

The man in the black with his feet on the table, man3, said, "Yes yes sister we know the consequences, but the question is not when to act, but how."

"So how do we go by this one? We cannot just give him back his memory." man1 said.

"Or can we?" woman2 asked, everyone's attention was on her, "Before he turned into a best he retained some of his memory. If we can link that memory to lost ones, they may reawaken."

Woman3 stood up, "Well lets have at it then."

"Not so fast sister Meddler, we have to do this discreetly. His fate is too close to a dire path, if he takes it, you, as well as all of us, know what will happen." man2 said.

"So what do you want me and brother Meddler to do?" sister Meddler asked.

"Well someone has do something, who wants to confront him, Meddler, Watcher, or Keeper, two or one." woman2 said.

Man2 stood up, "I'll go, as the Keeper of Fate I think it is the best, I also want to confront him alone. Do I have all of your support?" Fate the Keeper asked.

Woman2 responded, "You have the Keeper of Destinies support."

Woman1 said, "As well as Watcher of Destiny."

Man1 said, "The same goes for the Watcher of Fate."

Man 3 stood up, "As much as I would like to go, you have the Meddler of Fate's approval. How about you sister?" he asked woman3.

"I suppose I have no choice, seeing how I'm outvoted. You have the Meddler of Destinies vote." Destiny the Meddler said disappointingly.

"Good, I will do my best." the Fate the Keeper said.

Fate the Watcher said, "This meeting is adjourned, good luck brother." everyone at the table began to fade away leaving only Fate the Keeper left.

"Luck, Owen needs it more than me. Even with me talking to him he can still go down the wrong path." Fate the Keeper said, he then faded as the rest did.

__

Owen found himself in a black void, he had black chains on his body limiting his movement. He could only move a few feet in any direction, "Hello? Is anyone there?" he asked but got no response. A black figure appeared in front of Owen and startled him, "Ahh!"

"Greetings Owen." the figure said.

Owen stuttered, "H…how do y…you know my n…name?"

"I am Fate and I know a lot." he pointed a finger at Owen, "Especially about you, like your past and your future."

Owen got up, "You know about my past? Please tell me who I am, what am I?"

"I cannot tell you that." Fate the Keeper said, Owen was disappointed, "But I can tell you the code that you lived by for almost all of your life."

Owen looked up hopeful, "Well what is it?"

"Fight for what is right." Fate the Keeper said.

"What does that mean?" Owen asked.

"It means that no matter what, you have to fight for good and for those in need, even if it means doing harm, to you or others." Fate said then faded away.

Owen was confused, "Wait! What does that mean?" he got no response, "Fate? Hello? Anybody?!" Owen then felt like his mind was expanding, he started to remember parts of his life, all of the time that he helped someone in need, or at least tried to. Most of the memories had a girl with long black hair and blue eyes in them, he felt like he cared for her strongly.

__

Jas had just woken up after a restless night. All of her dreams had Owen in them, but then he turned into a werewolf and attacked her. She would kill him in defense, he then would turn back to normal and say, "Why? Why did you kill me?" Jas cried just thinking about it. Once she got a hold of herself she wandered around the temple before training. Jas made her way to the balcony and found Chad.

"Rough night?" he asked.

Jas leaned against the balcony, "Yea…hey Chad? When is he coming back?"

Chad looked at the horizon, "I don't know. Probably within the week." Chad could see Jas's face lightened a little but she looked concerned, "Don't worry, when he comes back everything will be better."

Jas thought for a moment then lightened up some more, "Thanks Chad."

Chad nodded, "Don't mention it." Jas then continued to wander the temple.

__

Owen shot awake, he found himself in a nest surrounded by people and werewolves. Owen got up and started to walk outside, _What did he mean by 'fight for what is right'?_, Owen walked outside the cave to find people and werewolves conversing. Owen wandered around trying not to stare at some of the more bizarre werewolf crosses, but he noticed that they were staring at him more that he was at them. He eventually found Ty by some of what he was guessing his friends at the edge of the clearing, "Hey Ty." Owen said.

Ty looked at him and said, "Hey, you're the guy from last night. Guys this was who I was talking about."

One of the girls stood up and walked towards Owen, she had wolf ears on her head just like Ty, she examined him and said, "Your eyes, Only werewolves have those eyes."

"I thought everyone here was a werewolf?" Owen asked.

Ty then said, "Yea everyone is, but only when we are in our werewolf we have your eyes, not when they are human, or part human. Oh and this is my sister Kim." he said pointing to the girl examining Owen.

"Hi." Kim said, "Sorry but I have to go hunting." she then walked off into the clearing.

Ty watched Kim leave, "She means everything to me, she is all I have left of my past."

Owen was about to ask Ty about his past when he herd a scream from behind him. Owe turned around to see the man who knocked him over last night holding Kim by the arm, "Come on, you and I are going to have some fun." the man said.

"Not on your life!" Kim said struggling.

Owen looked at Ty, he looked like he wanted to tear the guy in half but did nothing, "We have to do something."

Ty then said, "Are you crazy? That is Buck, he is the strongest one out of the pack, he would kill us."

"She is your sister! You said she meant everything to you, what are you a wolf or a big fat chicken?" Owen asked demandingly.

"I may be frightened, but at least I know how to pick my fights!" Ty snarled.

Owen the understood Fate's words, "Someone once told me to fight for what is right, even if it brings harm to you." Owen then walked over to Buck.

Ty then said, "You fool, he will tear you to shreds!"

Owen ignored him, "Hey Buck!" Buck turned around, "Pick on someone you own size!"

Buck then said, "I would but nobody is my size, and you cannot match my strength."

Owen then charged Buck only to be smacked back by Buck, his claws dug into Owen's face and arms, "Ahh."

"Had enough little man." Buck said mockingly, everyone in the clearing started to pay attention to the fight. Owen got up even though his body was in pain, the pain started to fade, "What the hell are you?!"

Owen looked at his arm, it had white steam coming off the cuts revealing healed skin, images flashed though his mind, he remembered Ace, who he was and that he was his father, and all of the training he had done with him along with his powers. Owen looked at the faces of the people watching, they were in shock, he cracked his neck and said, "Determined." Buck then charged at him and Owen quickly sidestepped and landed a good punch to Buck's ribs.

Buck staggered and said, "It is going to take a lot more then that to stop me." Owen then charged at Buck, Buck was going to slash at Owen but Owen got underneath him and kicked him in the gut. Buck snarled and charged at Owen, Owen closed his eyes, Buck was about to strike Owen when his eyes shot open. His fist was aflame with light as he ducked and uppercut, punching Buck in the jaw. Buck was thrown back a few feet, Buck didn't move but his agonizing cries showed that he was alive.

The crowd burst into cheers, Ty ran up to Owen, "How did…you just…but he is…your just…" he stuttered.

Kim ran up to Owen and gave him a tackling hug, "He's my hero!"

Buck staggered up and charged at Owen only to be thrown back, "That is quite enough Buck, you are beaten and you know it." the Pack Mother said standing over Buck.

"Yes Mother, I understand." Buck said on his knees, head down.

Ty ran up to the Pack Mother, "Mother did you see what he did?"

The Pack Mother smiled, "Yes child." she walked over to Owen who still had Kim clinging to him, "You did well Owen, I would like to have a word with you." she then walked off to the side.

Kim then said, "So Owen is your name? I kind of like, are you still available?" she asked flirtingly.

"Uhh…um, sorry the Pack Mother wanted to talk to me." Owen broke free of Kim's grasp and ran over to the Pack Mother. "You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"I was right when I said you were special, but I had no idea that you were a member of the Royal Family." the Night Mother said.

Owen sat down by her, "What do you mean 'Royal Family'?"

"You probably don't remember much but only the Royal Family can harness the power of light." the Night Mother said.

Owen thought for a bit, "So your saying that I am royalty?" the Pack Mother nodded, "But I don't remember anything about that, or my father mentioning it."

The Pack Mother put her hand on his shoulder, "All in good time Owen, you will remember your past." she got up and walked to the mouth of the cave.

__

Back at the temple it was late in the evening and Cynder and Spyro were enjoying each others company in the gardens, "An eerie calm has come over the temple ever since Owen ran away." Spyro said.

"Yea, Jas is taking it really hard." Cynder said, "Do you think we should do something?"

Spyro shook his head, "No, I think Chad was right, helping could make it worse."

__

Ace was high in the sky falling in his elf form, thinking. _I wonder if there really is a cure?_, Ace asked himself. He then pulled off some aerial acrobatics and sighed,_ What if there isn't? Will we have to kill him?_, Ace paused,_ Will I have to kill him?_, Ace rubbed his head. He looked down to see that he was coming close to the temple and then turned into a dragon and flew down and landed in the gardens. He walked around and saw Spyro and Cynder, "Hey, how is Jas doing?" he asked and they both turned around.

Cynder replied, "She is really taking it hard, she locked herself in her room."

Ace sighed, "I should have know better." he paused, "I am a fool, I should have figured out what was wrong with Owen earlier, maybe then he would have been ok."

"Don't blame yourself, none of us could have predicted this." Spyro said the paused, "Well, maybe with the exception of Chad, but he said that he was not to interfere, and he did said that Owen would come back."

Ace looked up, "Really, I think that I am going to have a talk with him." Ace started to walk away.

When Ace was out of earshot Cynder said, "You either put Chad in hot water or gave Ace his answers."

"Yea, but I think he had a right to know." Spyro said.

__

Chad was sitting on the balcony still staring off into the distance. He heard footsteps from behind him and said, "Don't worry, he'll come back."

"You really are just like your mother, always confident." Ace said and walked up next to Chad, elf.

Chad looked over to Ace, "I'm just following orders."

Ace chuckled, "That makes you even more like her, always loyal…I do miss her." he looked depressed.

Chad said, "I'm sorry." Ace looked at Chad, "It must pain you to look at me, seeing how you say I am so much like her."

Ace nodded, "You don't know the half of it. You have her personality, her eyes, her powers."

"You really do miss her don't you?" Chad asked and Ace nodded, "I'm sorry, but I can't say that I ever knew her."

Ace shook his head, "No, you wouldn't, you and your brother were just babes when you two were sent away." Ace had a look of pain on his face, "I cannot say how sorry I am for sending you and Owen away."

Chad looked out on the horizon, the sun was setting, "No, you can't. But I want so say that I forgive you." Ace was about to say something but Chad cut him off, "There is no need. Don't worry, he'll come back." Ace then looked out on the horizon and waited there, with Chad.

__

Owen was walking into the cave with Kim clinging to his arm, "Kim, can you please let go?" Owen asked.

"Aww, why? You saved me and I am repaying my gratitude." Kim said and Ty groaned.

"Are you? Or are you trying to score?" Owen asked demandingly.

Kim blushed, "Well it is not that like you had anyone before, and if you did I bet she wouldn't accept you know, being a werewolf and all."

Owen tried to break free of Kim's grip when his head started to pulse, he remembered Jas, how much he cared for her and how accepting she was. He also remembered all the time he spent with her and the past events with her. Owen's mind cleared and he said, "Actually there is someone." Kim looked unconvinced, "I remember now, Jas, that is who she is!" Owen darted for the Pack Mothers den and out of Kim's grip.

"Hey where are you going?" Kim asked. Owen didn't reply, "Wait for me!" she then chased after Owen. Ty sighed and followed his sister.

Owen burst into the Pack Mother's den and bowed in respect, "I'm sorry for the intrusion, but I need to speak to you."

The Pack Mother was calm and said, "Permission granted."

Owen then sat down and said, "I am remembering who I was, am. I need to find my way back to my home."

The Pack Mother smiled and said, "I am very happy for you, all who remember who they were usually do go back to there home and try to get accepted. I just have one request from you."

Ty and Kim ran into the Pack Mother's den and both bowed saying, "Pack Mother."

The Pack Mother ignored them and walked to the door, "Come." she commanded and everyone followed. She led them to the room with the lake in it and stopped in the middle in the room, "I grant you leave, but first you have to show me that you control to wolf within you."

"Wait, your leaving?" Ty asked surprised.

Kim ran up to Owen, "No, you can't! If he is going then so am I!" she said to the Pack Mother.

"That goes for me, I can't let Kim go be herself." Ty said.

The Pack Mother then said, "I granted you both leave a long time ago, Owen has yet to get it." she pointed to Owen, "Turn into a werewolf and show me that you can control it."

Owen nodded and closed his eyes, he didn't know how to turn into a werewolf so he decided to wing it. He first thought about just being one, that didn't work. He then tried thinking about a wolf, that didn't work. He was getting frustrated, his rage welling, and felt himself change, he felt himself turn into a werewolf. He was about to lose control when he remembered why he was doing this, Jas. He calmed down and found himself in control of his werewolf form.

"Well done, children, if you truly want to go with Owen, go say your goodbyes." Ty and Kim nodded and headed out of the door, "Remember Owen, you control the best, not the other way around. No matter what, you must always remember that." Owen nodded and started to walk out of the door, "There is one more thins I have to tell you." Owen turned around, "When you are in need of wisdom or guidance, you are always welcome to come back." Owen bowed and turned back into an elf.

"I will remember that, thank you, Pack Mother." turned and walked out of the room and headed outside, waiting for Ty and Kim.

__

Jas was in her room face down in her pillow, _It is all my fault, if I didn't come here in the first place, Owen would have never had to suffer_, she buried her face deeper into her pillow. She heard knocking on her door.

"Jas, are you ok?" it was Cynder, Jas didn't respond, "Jas come on out, we are all at fault for what happened to Owen. You can't just blame yourself." Jas heard the door start to open and she immediately sealed it with her power. From the other side of the door she heard, "I understand."

Jas heard Cynder leave and she relaxed a little and unsealed the door, _she doesn't know how I feel, Owen isn't just a good friend…I love him._ Jas felt a wave of memories of Owen and she welled up in tears.

__

"Come on guys lets go!" Owen said in a cheery mood as Ty and Kim approached.

Ty laughed, "Sorry, we had to convince some of our friends not to come."

Owen stepped forward, "You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"I'm going, I couldn't stand it if my savior got hurt." Kim said flirtingly.

"And I can't let my little sister go without me, besides, I always wanted to see the world. Who knows, I might jog my memory." Ty said.

"Alright then lets go!" Owen said and darted of to the trees and Kim and Ty followed.

Ty caught up to Owen and asked, "Where exactly are we going anyways?"

"I have no idea, but I feel like I know the way to Jas." Owen said and quickened his pace.

Kim ran up to Owen's side, "You really care that much for her?" Owen nodded, "To go out and look for her when you don't know the way to her?" Owen nodded, "Even though she might not accept you now that you are a werewolf?" Kim asked, Owen once again nodded, "What happens if she doesn't?"

Owen was unconsciously increasing his speed, "She will, I just know it."

Kim sighed and Ty said, "Wow, she means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"She means everything to me." Owen said and turned right, Kim and Ty followed, "That night that I came to the pack, I still remembered her." They continued on in silence and kept on changing direction, going in circles at some points. They stopped at sunrise at a large cave with runes on the edges of the cave mouth, "What is this place?" Owen asked.

Ty asked a bit annoyed, "I don't know, you were the one leading us, don't tell me you got us lost."

"Owen, I'm scared." Kim said and latched herself on Owen's arm, "That's better."

Owen pulled his arm free and walked to the cave, "This seems oddly familiar, I can't put my finger on it, but I know this place." Owen walked inside the cave and walked around, "The name of this place is…is…" Owen grabbed his head, "is familiar." Owen continued to walk in the cave and walked into a large empty room.

"Owen, lets get out of here, I got a bad felling about this place." Ty said staying close to his sister in case something would happen.

Owen walked to the center of a room, there was a slightly torn, grey cloak on the ground, "This looks familiar." he picked it up and memory flooded into him. He remembered the Order of the Dragon, his dragon transforming ability, the Dragon's Blood Temple, how he got to the Magic Realm, and where the Dragon Temple was. "So that is were my cloak went." he said to himself. He turned to face Kim and Ty, "Don't worry, this place is safe. Come on I know were to go." he ran out of the temple and threw on his cloak.

__

It was midday and Chad was _still _sitting on the balcony, he saw some movement in the trees and noticed that it was Owen, along with two other people. He smiled to himself and said, "Their back." he got up and ran through the halls to tell of the news.

__

Ace was in the library looking for a cure of werewolfism, _there has to be a cure or spell to set him back to himself_.

Ace looked up as Chad came in saying, "He's back, go tell the elders." and ran back out.

Ace said surprised, "Owen? Back?" Ace ran to find the elders, _what is we have to kill him, will I be ready?_, Ace rejected the idea and continued to find the elders

__

Cynder and Spyro had fell asleep in the gardens together, they were peacefully sleeping, having dreams about each others when Chad ran past, "Hey wake up Owen is…is this a bad time?"

Spyro and Cynder shot awake and observed there surrounding and realized what happened, they both blushed and said simultaneously, "What? No nothing at all."

Chad paused and shook his head, "Anyways, Owen is back." he then darted out of the gardens and to Jas's room.

__

Chad slowly opened her door and said quietly, "Jas." she was face down in her pillow.

"GO AWAY!" she shouted at him.

Chad started to leave, "Ok, I thought you would want to know that Owen is back, but if you want me to leave then I will."

Jas shot up, "Owen is back?!" she said hopeful, Chad nodded, Jas gave a cheer of joy and ran outside to the front doors yelling, "He's back, he's back!" Chad followed, walking.

__

Owen, Ty, and Kim stopped outside of two huge wood doors, "I guess this is goodbye then." Ty said and gave Owen a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, goodbye is not forever." Owen said and gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder.

"Do you really have to go?" Kim asked sadly, Owen nodded, "Ok." Kim sounded even sadder. Owen had his back to the doors and Kim saw them and a girl run out, _That must be Jas_, she thought and in desperation, for she did not want to let Owen go thought, _If I can't have him then she can't either_.

Owen was about to turn around when he found that Kim was giving him a great big hug. Owen was startled for a moment then said, "What are you doing?"

He then heard from behind him, "Owen?" it was hollow and weak, it was Jas. He turned around to see Jas in the doorway with everyone else from the temple outside, except for Chad, but then he wouldn't recognize him anyways. More memory flew into him, he remembered his training, his mentors, his friends, and the rest of his life on Earth. When he go over the spell, he noticed that Jas was crying uncontrollably, she then turned around and ran back into the temple.

"Jas wait!" he yelled but he got no reply, he broke free from Kim's grasp and ran into the temple, "Wait!"

Kim had a sly smile on her face from her success, she looked around at the ones at the temple door, they had hard faces, angry faces, towards her. She looked back at her brother for support but she found him with his arms crossed, shaking his head with and equally hard face.

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**Please review and tell me how you liked it, the next Chapter will be out when it will be (hopefully soon) until next time.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**---------**

**Chapter 12: The Secret**

Owen was running in the halls trying to catch up with Jas so he could explain, "Jas, please stop!"

Jas stopped, still sobbing, "Y…your r…right! Wh…why should I…I run when I have n…nothing to g…go to!?" she demanded, "I…I'm glad th…that you found someo…one you care f…for."

Owen was hurt, he had to make her see, "Your right." Jas looked up at him, "She is standing right in front of me."

Jas cried even more, "Owen, st…stop, lying won't h…help." Owen took a few steps towards her, "I said stop!" Owen felt himself lifted into the air, "I'll make you stop if I have to." Jas turned around, the tears were gone, only rage remained.

Owen was petrified but managed to say, "Jas, I have always tried my hardest to keep a smile on your face, to keep you happy." Jas raised her hand up, "If that is what will make you happy, than do it. I will have no regrets." Owen closed his eyes, "Do it!"

Jas was full of anger, she wanted to crush Owen then and there, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She let Owen drop to the ground, she said sadly, "Owen, I could never harm you, you could tear out my heart a thousands times and I could never bring myself to do it." she started to cry from what she had attempted to do.

Owen walked up to Jas and wiped away her tears, "I know you wouldn't, but even if I tore your heart out, I would give mine." Jas leaned into Owen and gave him a hug, Owen was shocked at first, but then brought his arms around her, "Jas, I would bring you back from the edge of death, even if I had to die to do so. I would go through any obstacle to bring you back home." Owen was getting a little teary eyed, "Jas, I love you."

Jas brought her head up and leaned it over his shoulder, "I love you to Owen." They stood there hugging each other, not wanting the moment to last, and to let their wrongs be forgiven.

__

Steve was cracking his knuckles, "Can I have first swing at her?"

Evan then said, "Wait in line."

Ty stepped in front of his sister, "You have to go through me first."

"Everyone stop!" Ace yelled, "Why don't we have them tell us there story so we can sort this out." Kim opened her mouth, "Not you, him." Ace said pointing to Ty.

Ty stared at them violently, "Very well." Ty explained Owen's stay, their journey, and why his sister did what she did, "I have to apologize for my sister, since she won't." he said sharply to his sister.

"But I love him!" Kim said deafeningly.

"Tell me child, has he ever shown affection towards you?" Ignitus asked.

"He saved me from Buck!" Kim said even more forcefully.

Ace stepped forward, "If I know my son, he was just doing what was right."

Ty nodded, "He told my that's what he was doing before he fought Buck."

"But big brother." Kim pleaded.

"That's enough, I don't want to hear another word." Ty said forcefully, and Kim pouted.

It suddenly dawned on Ace, "So is there a cure, from being a werewolf?"

"Cure?" Ty asked then let out a loud laugh.

Ace said hollowly, "So he is cursed, forever?"

"I don't see it as a cures, but as a blessing." Ty said, "We have seen the world in an entirely new way, it is nothing to be ashamed of or feared for."

"I see." Ace said disappointingly.

"I'm sorry if that is not what you wanted to hear, come on Kim, lets go home." Ty said and started to walk away.

Spyro then asked, "Your leaving, already?"

"Why wouldn't we? We brought Owen back and the only reason I came was to bring Kim back home." Ty said.

"Well we are at war and I think we could use all of the allies we can get." Spyro said trying to convince Ty.

Ty turned around, "What kind of war?"

__

Owen and Jas were still in the hall hugging each other, Jas spoke up, "Will you ever forgive me?"

Owen looked at Jas, "You know that I will, but will you ever forgive me."

"I could never stay mad at you." Jas said truthfully, Jas looked into Owen's eyes, she noticed that they were yellow, "Owen, your eyes are…"

"Yellow, wolf eyes, different, not right, yea I know." Owen said, thinking that Jas was scared or horrified.

"No." Jas said and put her had to his face, "They are beautiful."

Owen blushed_, beautiful_, it was the last thing that Owen expected, "Not as beautiful as yours."

Jas blushed this time and noticed Chad approaching from behind Owen, she pushed herself away and said, "Chad! We weren't doing anything."

Owen looked at Chad, he wore his black cloak, "Who are…" Owen was cut off by Chad, but not with words, but with a punch in the face. Owen was thrown back, "Ow, what the hell was that for?" Owen then remembered the battle before he ran away, "You…you were the one who saved us." Owen said and Chad nodded, "But why did you punch me in the face?"

"You told me to." Chad said.

"Why would I do that?" Owen asked shocked.

Chad offered a hand to help Owen up and he took it, "Well it did give you the rest if your memory back didn't it? Besides I was just doing what you told me to do." Chad could see that Owen was unconvinced, "Well not now or some time soon, but in your near future."

Owen was pondering then her remembered, "The Bands of Time, right?" Chad nodded, "Then where do I find them?"

Chad shrugged his shoulders, "The hell if I know, you didn't tell me. Anyways, you two have to get things straight with um…what was her name…Kim! Yea Kim, otherwise she will never give up on you." Owen and Jas nodded and lead the way outside of the temple.

__

"So let me get this straight, the war is for the future of the realm, against some big bad guy, and Owen is suppose to defeat him?" Ty asked and Spyro nodded, "Count me in, I mean, I would be happy to fight with you."

Kim pulled at her brothers arm, "But brother! Owen could get hurt!"

Ace laughed, "I doubt that, one of his powers is healing, anything short of, say, total annihilation will kill him."

"There, so stop worrying." Ty said.

"It still could happen." Kim protested, Ty just slapped his head and groaned. Owen, Jas, and Chad came out of the temple, Owen and Jas holding hands. Kim was heart broken, "She still accepts you then."

There was a pause, Jas spoke up, "Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

"But…but…but he is a werewolf, and your just a human, you should hate him for what he is." Kim said shocked.

Jas leaned on Owen's shoulder, "No, just you."

Kim growled, Ty snapped at his sister, "That's enough!" Kim quieted down, "You just leave them alone, you hear me?"

Kim sighed, "Yes brother."

Ty could see how stunned everyone's faces were, that he could go from loose to strict with his sister so fast, "She never was disciplined, and so it's my job to try and get her to be."

Cyril spoke up, "I think we have wasted enough time here, don't you think we should get back to today's schedule?"

"Right you are Cyril, we have lost to much time with the past events." Volteer continued to ramble.

Ace put a hand on each of his sons shoulders, "Great now the brothers can train together."

"Wait, what?" Owen asked shocked.

Ace looked at Chad, "Did you tell him?"

"I thought you did." Chad said.

Ace sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Owen, I have a lot of explaining to do, but to make a long story short, Chad here is your brother."

Owen was silent, then he said, "Ok, awkward, in that case." Owen slugged his brother in the arm.

"Ow, what was that for?" Chad asked, Owen tapped his face, "Oh, well, then we're even."

Owen turned to Ace and said quietly to him, "But after training you have to explain everything, and I do mean everything." Everyone made their way to the training room, Owen and Jas close to each other, Kim enviously behind them, Ty glaring at his sister, Chad and Ace conversing, Spyro and Cynder had their tails intertwined, their relationship was no longer a secret, and the elders in the lead.

As they entered the training room Ty asked, "How are we going to train if there is a big statute in the way?" Ignitus flipped a switch and the statute stated to descend, "Well that is one way, I guess."

Everyone gathered around the outer edge of the training circle and Ignitus said, "I think we will skip strait to sparing."

Owen instinctively reached for his sword but couldn't find it, "Hold on I need to get my sword." he turned around to see Boe, he had a pack and Owen's sword across his back, "Thanks Boe." he took of his pack to find new cloths in it, Owen looked at himself and realized that he was wearing rags, he stepped out into the hallway, "I'll be right back." He took a moment to get 'descent' then walked back into the training room. He wore a white muscle shirt that had, in gold trim, the Order of the Dragon insignia on the chest and plain white pants.

"How do they fit?" Ace asked.

Owen was flexing and stretching seeing if the cloths tore or were tight, "Fine, better even." Owen retrieved his sword from Boe and quietly asked him, "Did you miss me?"

Owen was waiting for his usual bark but got, "More than you know." Boe then winked and licked Owen's face, "Our little secret." Owen smiled and rubbed Boe's head.

"Come on Owen." Chad said in the center of the room, he wore the exact same outfit as Owen, but black instead of white.

Owen got up and belted his sword, "Yea yea, I'm coming."

Ignitus then asked, "Ready?" they both nodded, "Good, fight!"

Chad and Owen pulled out their swords, Owen said, "Don't think that I'll go easy on you just because you're my brother."

"I wasn't expecting it, you aren't the only one who can heal." Chad replied.

"Good now I don't have to hold back." Owen said mockingly.

Chad gave a chuckle, "I thought you said you weren't going to go easy in the first place."

"Yea, I did, but now I can show you my full power." Owen said.

Sparx slapped his head, "What are you two going to do talk all day or are you going to fight?" A beam of light whizzed past his face, "Hey watch it!"

Owen grinned, "Sorry Sparx, I still need to work on my aim."

"Ha ha, very funny." Sparx said sarcastically.

Owen looked where Chad was but didn't see him, he raised his sword up at the last second and locked swords, "Nice try." Owen said and they repelled each other. Owen swung his sword letting a crescent of light fly at Chad, Chad raised his sword and brought it down slicing the crescent in half. Chad charged at Owen, his sword aflame with black fire, Owen assumed darkness, Owen readied for the blow and set his aflame with light. Chad was right upon Owen when he threw his sword in the air over Owen's head, sidestepped, caught his sword behind Owen, and followed up with an uppercut across Owen's back.

Owen cried in pain, "Give up?" Chad asked, he new the answer.

White steam came off his wound sealing it, "You wish." Owen retorted. Owen was caught off guard by feeling his shirt closing where Chad slashed, "What the hell?" Owen asked shocked.

"Miracle Cloth." Ace said, "It will never stain and will repair itself."

"Well that's convenient." Owen said and jumped back avoiding Chad's attack, _Ok time to pay attention_, he thought and charged at Chad, it was his turn for fancy fighting. Chad prepared for the blow, but Owen fell to his knees and leaned back sliding under Chad, Chad stabbed down and barely missed Owen. Owen got to his feet and ran to the wall only a few feet away, he propelled himself up the wall and jumped off it at the peak of his climb, Chad turned around but didn't see Owen. Owen landed behind Chad and sliced down cutting him across the back.

Chad stumbled forward from the blow and gave a cry, "Ahh, nice trick there." he said and got up. His wound was clear, suddenly his wound started to close like Owen's but instead of white steam, black smoke came off it, his shirt closed shortly after. Chad then turned and held his sword in front of him, the runes on his blade started to glow black and he charged at Owen, Owen fed power into his sword like he did to break Nexus's barrier and the both locked swords. There was a big explosion and they were both tossed back and landed on their feet.

"Let me guess, you stored power into you blade like me?" Owen asked.

"You know me well brother." Chad said.

"Figure that, and we just met." Owen said. They then matched each other blow for blow, the room was starting to fill with white steam and black smoke, causing a light fog.

"You think that they would tire after awhile." Cynder said.

Spyro whispered to Cynder, "I think they are trying to prove who is stronger."

"Probably, but they are getting nowhere, they are to evenly matched." Cynder whispered back.

"Even so, you got to admit that it is fun it watch." Spyro answered.

Owen was about to prepare for another attack but Ace stepped between him and Chad, "That is enough, you two are too evenly matched." Ace said and Owen and Chad sheathed their weapons. Ace pulled them off to the side, he said in a low voice, "Lets find someplace quiet, then I will explain everything." Owen and Chad followed Ace out of the training room as Steve and Evan were about to perform hand to hand. They made there way to the library and Ace closed the door, "Ok, I know that I have a lot of explaining to do."

Owen spoke first, "Yea, mind explaining the Royal Family?"

Ace looked shocked, but only for a second, "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I mean." Owen said, "When I was with the pack, the leader of the pack told me that only the Royal Family could harness the power of light."

Ace sighed, "I knew I couldn't keep it secret forever, I just wish I had more time."

"Time for what?" Chad asked.

"Well for starters, yes I am a King, if you will say. That being, you both are princes, and with that people will expect you two to solve there problems, being big or small." Ace looked at his sons, "More or less, the people will be all over you, and I don't want you two to get fat heads, and more importantly do not to let anyone know, if at all possible."

"You don't have to worry about me." Owen said, "I hate the lime light. Chad on the other hand you might have to worry about."

"Me? Nah, I have always lived in the shadows." Chad said.

__

"Hey, where did Ace, Owen, and Chad go?" Cynder asked Spyro.

"Don't know." Spyro said getting up, "Come on, lets see were they went." Spyro and Cynder carefully snuck out of the training room and wandered around for awhile. After a few minutes Spyro said, "Come on Cynder, lets get back before someone notices we are missing."

Cynder nodded then said, "Do you hear something?" a knocking sound was in the distance, "It sounds like knocking."

"The front door maybe?" Spyro asked.

"Come on lets find out." Cynder said and Spyro followed. They got to the front door and opened it, on the other side was a pink dragoness.

"Hello, I am here to deliver a message." she said.

"To who?" Spyro asked.

The pink dragon straitened up, "The letter is for…"

__

"So you'll promises me that you won't let it go to your heads?" Ace asked his sons, they both nodded, "Alright, there is one last thing I wanted to tell you." his sons looked up, "I had to pick an allies so I wouldn't be recognized, my real name is…" Ace was interrupted by the library door opening.

Spyro and Cynder walked through, Spyro said to Ace, "Um, someone has a message for you."

The pink dragoness walked in and bowed then said, "Lord Benjamin, I have an urgent message for you."

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**Yea yea, yell at me if you want, but I needed someone to bring the message. I was to lazy to make a new character so I just used a Spyro universe one. I will try to not make her so, well you know. Next Chapter out whenever.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**Side note: Ace will still be referred to as Ace. Also Ember doesn't sound like she inhaled helium, she has a more mature voice.**

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**Chapter 13: Dark Pasts**

Ace rubbed his fore head annoyed, "Hello Ember."

"Wait hold up, your name is Benjamin?" Owen asked.

"King Benjamin the fourth actually." Ace said.

Owen and Chad whistled, "Is there something wrong with that?" Ember asked, "He is the rightful King to the throne, you shouldn't treat the King like that."

"Ember, its fine." _Ace said, Why here? Now?_, he thought.

"As you say, my Lord." Ember said obediently.

"You're a King?" Spyro asked, Ace nodded, "Didn't expect that, you said you were a Ranger."

"I am." Ace said, "Well so much for keeping it a secret." Ace then brought Cynder and Spyro up to speed, "And that's that."

Spyro and Cynder were blown away by Ace's story, Cynder asked, "If you are a king, why did you abandoned your Kingdom?"

"How dare you speak of the king as a coward!" Ember exclaimed.

Ace quieted her down, "No, its alright." Ace paused, "I have one thing left to say, and the hardest." Everyone gathered around Ace and got comfortable, "Four years ago, Chad and Owen were born, around the time Spyro and Cynder disappeared and Malefor brought his reign. That was when the Queen and I decided to escape, for the future of the Kingdom to survive, we found shelter from one of my friends, Hunter. I had my hand, five specially selected people, keep our existence and location a secret, Embers father is one of them."

"He's dead." Ember said bluntly, "Him and mother."

"I am sorry, truly I am, they were my friends." Ace said trying to hold back the grief, "Can I ask how, if you are alright with it?"

Ember tried to hold back tears the best she could, "I don't want to talk about it."

"I understand." Ace said comfortingly, "Anyways, the Queen and I disguised ourselves and slipped into the ranks of my army, thanks to my hand. We fought for three years, three long years, Hunter took care of Owen and Chad when he could, Ignitus had him looking for Spyro and Cynder. That is when I had the vision of Owen's future, we were on the battle field and I blacked out." Ace paused to regain his thoughts, "When I awoke, I found the Queen dieing in my arms, her dieing words were, 'I forgive you, save our baby boys.', I didn't know what that meant until I asked one of my hands, your father." he said to Ember, Ace tried to keep a firm voice, "He said that I killed her, I don't know how, she should have healed. I latter found out that my dark side had taken control while I was blacked out, I have never forgave my self, even now. Afterwards I had four of my hand to take care Owen and Chad in another world, they agreed and I sent them to Earth, I lost all I had that day. Your father stayed behind." Ace said to Ember.

"But why?" She asked.

"He told me that he had to raise his little girl." Ace said with a grim look on his face, "Your father was the oldest out of all of us, mush older in fact."

Ember was sad, both for how much her father cared for her and Ace's loss, "I see, I'm so sorry my Liege."

Ace still had the grim look on his face, "There is no need to apologize, and don't be so formal, I don't deserve to be King, not after what I have done."

Owen put his hand on Ace's right shoulder and Chad on his left, Owen said, "Don't say that, you did what you thought was right, that is always the best thing to do."

"Yea, besides, you can't beat yourself up forever. It wasn't your fault." Chad said.

Ace gave a hollow chuckle, "You two, I didn't want to take the chance of harming you."

"I'm sorry for your lost, King Benjamin." Spyro said.

"Me to." Cynder followed up.

Ace thought to himself, "Benjamin, that name has lost meaning to me, please refer to me as you have. Ember, I'm sorry that you have came all this way for nothing, I have turned my back on the Kingdom, I'm sure it has done the same to me."

"No." Ember said forcefully, Ace looked up, "I'm sorry my Liege, but this is more that a message asking you to return, it is more urgent than that. The Council has taken over the city, they run the kingdom now."

Ace interrupted, "Good, thy can do a better job than me."

Ember stomped her feet, "You don't understand, people are dying, it is a dictatorship, the people can't do anything, even sneezing is considered disturbing the peace." Ember got more serious, "Also, we have gotten a threat from Nexus to have over the lunar medallion or risk death, the Council just ignores it."

Ace thought for awhile then said, "They can't be helped."

Ember spun around and slapped Ace across the face with her tail, Ace, as well as everyone else, was shocked. Ember bowed low to the ground, "Forgive me my Lord, but you are blind. All of the stories that father and mother told of you, they said that you always knew what to do, always doing the right thing. Now I know that it was all speculation, your just a big coward!" Ember said. Ace thought for a long while and Ember started to leave, "You were our last hope."

Ace's mind was racing, Ember was almost our of the library, "Wait!" Ember stopped and turned, "I will help you."

Ember's face lightened, "Oh thank you my Lord! I must tell the others immediately."

"No thank you." Ember looked at Ace, "We leave at dawn, if what you say is true, then the Council will try anything in their power to stop me from getting to the Castle. No, I will take the throne, for the peoples sake, but you have to travel with us, as to not draw suspicion."

"As you say my Liege." Ember said bowing.

Ace started to walk out of the library, "Could you please stop with that, 'my Liege', or , 'my Lord', stuff, I never liked that. Call me Ace."

"As you say Ace." Ember giggled.

Ace raised an eyebrow, "Is something the matter?"

"It's just, speaking to someone as yourself so formally, it feels odd." Ember said.

"You'll get use to it." Ace said, "Gather your things, we leave tomorrow."

Spyro said, "I doubt the elders will lets us go."

"You leave that problem to me." Ace said and walked out of the library. Everyone filed out shortly after.

__

"No you are not." Ty said.

Kim stomped her feet, "Why not?"

"You either fight me or nobody at all." Ty said forcefully.

"But she is just a human, there is no threat." Kim complained.

Ty sighed, "Fine, but don't come crying to me if you get your but handed to you." Kim stuck her tongue out at Ty, Ty walked up to Jas who was on the other side of the room, "Go easy on her, she might not know that you have power, but I do." Jas looked at Ty questioningly, "I can feel or scenes the power of people, yours is one of the strongest I have felt."

Jas paused, "I will go easy on her, but I can't say that she won't get hurt." she then walked to the center of the room and opened up her pouch, she assembled her staff and took up the fighting stance.

"Begin." Ignitus said. Kim punched out at Jas but she gently backed up and Kim missing her by inches. Kim continued trying to hit Jas and Jas continued to doge.

"Stand and fight!" Kim yelled.

"Ok." Jas said with a grin on her face. She charged forward and jabbed Kim in the gut with her staff, Kim growled and Jas smiled. Kim ran at Jas but she sidestepped and threw her staff at Kim which she dodged.

"What are you going to do now without your stick?" Kim asked mockingly.

Jas just smiled, "This." Jas then pulled her staff back with her telepathy and struck Kim in the back of the head. Kim fell to the ground and rolled over to find a blade held up to her neck and Jas standing over her, "Dead." Jas walked away retracting her blade while taking apart her staff with her power and sheathing it.

Kim got up, "Never turn your back on a wolf." she said under her breath and charged at Jas. She was stopped abruptly by her brother.

"Your beaten, just be lucky that this wasn't a real fight or you would be dead." he said into her ear, he then said loud enough for everyone else to hear, "You did great."

Ace walked in, "I wish to talk to the elders, in private."

"Can it wait until after training?" Terador asked.

Ace paused for a moment, "No."

Ignitus sighed, "Then everyone is dismissed."

Owen walked in and walked over to Jas, Steve, and Evan, "I have got to tell you guys something that you won't believe."

__

Ace told the elders of the circumstances and asked permission for the youths to go. "You're the King, your will is our command." Cyril said.

"That's just it, I don't want to be King, and Chad and Owen are to young." Ace said, "I'm trapped."

"Are you sure you are not scared?" Ignitus asked, Ace turned his head away, "Come now, I was you mentor in the past, I know when my students are troubled."

Ace said, "I'm afraid that the people will reject me, just like I rejected them."

"That is nothing to be afraid of." Terador said, "If anyone was in your place, I'm sure they would have done the same thing."

Ace shook his head, "No, if I could go back, I would do things differently."

Ignitus said, "You are being to hard on yourself. You got to concentrate on the now, not on the then. You can't change the past Ben, as much as anyone would want to, you can't change the past." Ignitus saw Ace was remembering about his wife.

"Think about it." Volteer said, "I don't to be cruel, but if the Queen didn't die would you have let your sons go?"

Ace thought for a moment, "No."

"If you never sent them away, then they wouldn't have aged faster and wouldn't be here helping us fight." Volteer said and Ace thought, "We all have our place, sometimes you just have to find out where that place is."

Ace was lost in thought then he realized that Volteer was right, "Even if that is true, I can never forgive myself."

"And you shouldn't have to." Volteer said comfortingly, "If everyone never made any mistakes, how could we learn from them."

"Thanks Volteer." Ace said and Volteer nodded.

Cyril asked, "When do you plan on leaving?"

"In the morning." Ace said, "Hopefully we can slip in the city unnoticed, hopefully."

__

Owen had just explained his heritage to his friends, leaving out the part about his mother. Steve and Even bowed saying, "Your Majesty."

"I can see why dad left." Owen said to Chad.

Jas's mind was racing, her perspective on Owen had changed. In her mind Owen was no longer a normal childhood friend, now it seemed like she was meeting him for the first time. _A prince? Owen? Will he think differently of me? Will I think differently of him?_ Owen was telling Even and Steve to stop calling him so formally, but they just kept on doing it, in a teasing way. Everyone started to head out of the training room leaving Jas alone. Owen came back into the room.

"Jas is everything alright?" Owen asked.

Jas shook her head, "Nothing, its just…" Jas sighed, "Nothing will ever be the same, will it?"

Owen was taken aback, "Is this because of the whole royalty thing?"

"No, well, kind of, what I mean is, after all this is over, we just cant go back to the lives we had before all of this." Jas said, "Nothing will ever be the same."

"Sure it will." Owen paused, "Well, maybe not the way it use to be, but we can try to make the best of it."

Jas looked down, "How? We can't go back home, not after all that has happened to us, with the powers and all."

Owen started to walk around Jas in a circle thinking, "Then we will live here." Owen saw the Jas was shocked, "Think about it, we fit in here."

"But your still a prince." Jas said.

Owen scratched his head, "Then I will relinquish my title."

"What about the throne?"

"Chad can take it."

"And the people?"

"Will know why I left."

"And why is that?"

"You."

Jas blushed a little, "And where will we live?" Jas asked now following Owen in a circle pattern, both looking at each other.

Owen thought, "In a cottage on a hillside, with a view as far as the eye could see of flowers and hills, and a big Oak tree in the yard, where the children could pla…" Owen was getting a head of himself, he blushed and turned away, but clearly he put a lot of thought into it.

Jas walked up to Owen and put his hand on his face, "That would be lovely." Jas stared into Owen's yellow eyes, they were far off but down to earth, wild but gentle, fierce but loving, Jas could have lost herself in them for an eternity. Jas pushed herself away.

"Is something wrong?" Owen asked.

Jas shook her head, "No, it just seems like things have going so fast, theses past few weeks."

"Then we will slow down." Owen said walking up to Jas.

"That would be nice." Jas replied and they both departed to pack for tomorrow.

__

Chad was sitting on the balcony looking out in the distance, "What are you doing?" Spyro asked.

Chad looked at Spyro, "Waiting."

"For what?" Spyro asked, "Shouldn't you be packing?"

Chad raised and eyebrow, "Shouldn't you?" but he got no response from Spyro, "Nah, I never had much, just the cloths on my back, and this." Chad pulled a necklace out of his shirt, it was gold and shaped as a cross with fine detail, were the cross intersected was the Order of the Dragon insignia in a small disc.

"It's beautiful." Spyro said.

Chad looked at it mournfully, "It belonged to my mother, well at least the one of the hand that raised me." Chad didn't look at Spyro, "She gave it to me before she died." A single tear rolled down Chad's face, he wiped it away, "Sorry, she will be the closest thing that I will ever have to a mother."

Spyro sat down next to Chad, "What happened to her? If you don't mind me asking."

Chad shook his head, "No, not at all." Chad paused and took in a breath, "I was about five years old, we, my former father and mother, were heading home. We cut through an ally, it was dark, and I was scared, but they said that it would be alright." Chad paused, "There was a man in the ally heading towards us, mother told me to hide, I hid but peered out of my hiding spot to see what was happening. The man pulled a knife on mom and stabbed her. The next thing was more frightening, dad screamed and tackled the guy, more men came. He was out numbered, he then closed his eyes turned into a crimson red dragon." Chad shuddered, "Now I was young so I was freaking out, dad killed some of them, I ran out, some of them came after me. Dad then burnt them to a crisp and told me to run, and I ran like never before, I ran home and locked the door." Chad paused holding back tears, "He came home a little later, we didn't live that far from where this happened. I was terrified of dad, he laid mom on the bed and told me to stay with her while he called the hospital. I did, she told me that, no matter what, I had to be strong, she took her necklaces and put it in my hands…then she died." Chad was miles away.

"I'm sorry." Spyro said, "I didn't know."

Chad shook himself out of his trance, "Well, now you do." he tucked the necklace back into his shirt. Chad got up and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Spyro asked.

Chad stopped but didn't turn around, "I…I need to clear my head." he then continued walking.

When Chad was out of ear shot Spyro said, "Poor Chad, he has had a rough life. I wonder what happened to his dad."

"Yea, I feel sorry for him." Spyro jumped and turned around to see Owen, "Sorry."

"How long have you been here?" Spyro asked.

Owen scratched his head, "Long enough to know what Chad was talking about."

"Eavesdropper." Spyro said.

Owen shrugged, "Its not like I do it on purpose." Owen looked in the direction Chad went, "I should talk to him."

"I would wait until tomorrow." Spyro said following Owen's gaze, "What are you doing here anyways?"

Owen thought then said, "Oh yea, I was heading to our room to pack." Owen started to walk in the direction Chad had went.

"What do you have to pack?" Spyro asked curiously.

Owen turned, "Books." then continued on."Books?" Spyro asked himself then followed Owen.

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**Really sorry that this chapter is so late, my computer has been on the fritz lately and I finally got it fixed. The next chapter may be delayed due to testing, I will type it up when it is convenient, so you may have to wait awhile. Unless of course it is already out, then you have just been wasting time reading this notice.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 14: Travel**

Owen awoke early after a restful nights sleep, he stepped over Boe and checked his bag to see if he had everything. Inside was Owen's Portal Conjuring book, the nameless history book, books on the Order of the Dragon, and some of the relics Owen brought to class which now looked brand new. _Everything is were it is suppose to be_, Owen thought. He picked up the Portal Conjuring book and opened it, a note fell out, Owen picked it up. It read:

_Brush up on your history._

_From,_

_Yourself._

_Pg.200_

Owen returned the note to its proper page and looked at the big black book with gold engravings. He scratched his head, _I think I'll do that later_, and put the Portal Conjuring book back in his bag and walked out of the room.

__

Spyro awoke to the sound of the door closing, he yawned and walked over to the window and looked out of it, "Today we leave for Ace's kingdom, I wonder if it is as big as Warfang." He then headed for the door and to the kitchen. _Might as well grab a bite to eat_, he thought, he turned a corner and bumped into Kim.

"Morning Spyro." she said friendly.

"Hi, what are you doing up so early?" Spyro asked.

Kim leaned on the wall, "Well I came to apologize to Owen, have you seen him?"

Spyro shook his head, "No, I haven't seen him all morning, sorry."

"Oh, well that's ok, to tell you the truth, I lost his scent around here. I'm sure he'll turn up." Kim said and continued walking in the direction were Spyro came from.

Spyro watched Kim walk down the hall and turn to the right. Spyro was about to continue when he heard, "Hey, Spyro, up hear." Spyro looked up to see Owen supporting himself between two beams in the ceiling.

"What are you doing up there?" Spyro asked.

"Well I was going for a bite to eat, but then she came along." Owen said and dropped down.

Spyro asked, "Why are you avoiding her?"

"What she told you was a lie." Owen said.

"What? How can you tell?" Spyro asked.

"I can smell it." Spyro looked unconvinced, "Just trust me on this." Owen said and continued walking down the hall to the kitchen.

Spyro followed Owen and said, "You can't avoid her forever."

Owen let out a laughed, "Watch me."

"She is traveling with us, remember." Spyro said.

"Yea, but I have an advantage that she dose not, I can fly." Owen said.

Spyro shook his head, "Your hopeless."

They walked to the end of the hall and entered the kitchen to find Ace, "Morning you two." Ace said.

"Hey dad." Owen said, "What are you doing here?"

"Packing food, how about you?" Ace asked.

"Getting some breakfast." Spyro said.

"Well make it quick, we leave in an hour." Ace said and continued to put food in a bag.

Owen picked up five apples, "I'll take these."

"Hungry?" Spyro asked.

"No, but Jas likes to see me juggle." Owen said.

Ace leaned on the table in the center of the room, "You juggle?" Ace asked and Owen nodded, "Well now all you need is a funny hat and you can be the Court Jester."

Owen laughed, "Yea, the only way you will get me to juggle as a Jester is if someone's life is on the line." Owen walked out of the room and closed the door.

"So what food will you be using for entertainment?" Ace asked Spyro.

"Lamb legs." Spyro said.

Ace dug in his bag and asked, "Will you be taking five today?"

"No just two." Spyro said trying not to make eye contact.

"Ah, and would one of them be for a young dragoness with black scales?" Ace asked as he dug deeper in his bag, Spyro noticeably blushed. "Don't worry, I was young once myself." Ace said and pulled out two lamb legs, "Just don't stick your foot in your mouth."

"Thanks." Spyro said and grabbed both legs in his mouth and walked out.

When the door close Ace said, "Ah, young love."

__

Owen was in Jas's room juggling the apples in Jas's room and Jas was looking out of the window depressed. "Come on Jas you'll miss the show." Owen said concentrating on juggling.

Jas sighed, "I'm not in the mood right now."

Owen caught the apples and walked over by Jas, "What's wrong? You always like to see me juggle."

Jas shook her head, "No, its just, I don't know."

"Dose this have to do with the royalty thing again?" Owen asked but got no response, "Jas I told you, I'm not going to change."

"I know, its just that people will expect things from you. I might not see you as often." Jas said taking her gaze away from the window.

Owen scratched his head, "Now that is a problem. Well I can always tell them I'm a werewolf, that will keep the people off my back."

"And then burned at the stake." Jas said sarcastically.

"That would work, if only I could die." Owen said and took a bite out of an apple, "Want one?" he asked offering an apple to Jas.

Jas smiled and took the apple, "Thanks." there was a knock at the door, "Come in."

Ace stepped in, "We leave shortly, meet me outside the temple." and then left the room.

Owen sighed, "I got to get my things, I'll see you outside."

"Ok." Jas said as Owen walked to the window, "What are you doing?"

Owen opened the window, "Avoiding Kim." Owen jumped out of the window and turned into a dragon flying around to his room's window.

Jas put on her staff sheath and grabbed her bag, nothing much was in it, but Jas thought that they might come in handy. She then started to head for the front of the temple.

__

Spyro and Cynder were in Cynder's room enjoying their lamb legs. "At war?" Cynder asked.

"Yea, that is what Owen told me." Spyro said biting off a piece of lamb.

"And to think that we just finished one, and somewhere else there is fighting." Cynder said disturbed.

"I think that is the least of their worries right now." Spyro said, "The 'daemon' Evan and Steve talked about sounds much worse."

Cynder looked at her lamb, "The question is where did it come from?"

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked.

Cynder looked up, "Their planet, Earth, the inhabitants, they don't have any magic, and the only reason Owen and Chad have powers is because they came from our world."

"Then how does Jas have her powers?" Spyro asked.

"I'm not sure." Cynder said, "Maybe some of Owen's magic essence rubbed off on Jas."

"Is that even possible?" Spyro asked unconvinced.

Cynder shook her head, "I'm not sure, how else do you explain it, unless she came from our world to."

"Me neither." Spyro said, "But I'm glad your in mine."Cynder blushed, "Me two." they slowly moved in for a kiss when someone knocked on the door.

"We leave soon, we'll meet in front of the temple." Ace said from the other side of the.

Spyro and Cynder snapped out of their trance, "Alright Ace." Spyro said.

"I guess it is time to go." Cynder said reluctantly.

"Yea, see you outside." Spyro said and pecked a kiss on Cynder's cheek.

Spyro turned and Cynder blushed, "See you." and thought to herself, _My love_.

__

Owen landed in his room and turned back into an elf. He was confronted immediately by Boe, "That girl werewolf is just outside the door."

Owen sighed, "When will she give up?" Owen thought he heard Boe chuckle. Owen gathered his things; his bag, cloak, which he put on, sword, the box containing the Portal Gems, which he put in his bag, and rolled up his hammock and slung it over his shoulder. Owen walked to the door and hesitated, "I can't avoid her forever." and stepped out, Boe closely behind.

"Owen!" Kim sounded surprised, "How did you get past me? You weren't in there when I checked."

Owen shrugged, "I can fly."

Kim paused then said, "I just wanted to tell you that Big Brother and me leave to go back home."

"Your leaving?" Owen asked a little surprised.

"Ace told us about the Lunar Medallion and Big Brother nearly had a heart attack." Kim said, "Ace wants us to go the Pack Mother and ask for help, something about an old alliance, Big Brother knows more than I do." Kim moved in closer and said in a flirting voice, "Maybe you want to come with us?"

Owen pushed her back a bit, "Kim, it would never work between us, I love Jas." Kim looked hurt, "I'm sorry but that is how it is." Kim's ears drooped down, "Look, nothing romantic or anything like that is going to happen between us, but I would still like to be your friend, just friends."

"I guess, but I wanted something more to happen between us." Kim said sadly.

Owen sighed and then said, "Kim please stop, you will find someone who is right for you. Trust me, you will know who it is, and it is not me." Owen then left and headed to the front of the temple.

__

Everyone was waiting outside the temple for Ace, Steve yawned, "What's taking him so long?"

"Probably had some lose ends to tie up." Owen said reading his history book. Ace entered the clearing in front of the temple leading a pack horse and Owen marked the page he was on and put it in his bag.

"Sorry, I had some lose ends to tie up." Ace said.

Owen grinned, "Told you."

Ace pulled Ty off to the side, "You remember what to do?"

"Yea, tell the Pack Mother about the medallion and ask for help in the war to come." Ty said.

"Good. I cannot stress how curtail it is for you to succeed." Ace said, "Now go, good luck."

Ty chuckled, "I'm going to need it." Ty called to his sister to follow and they started to run off into the forest.

Ace yelled after them, "gods speed!" Ace grabbed the reigns of the pack horse and brought it closer to everyone else, "If you got something put it on the horse." no surprise, Owen and Jas were the only ones with bags. Once the bags were fastened they started heading off to the west.

Spyro and Cynder heard their names called from behind them. It was the elders, "You didn't think we would let you leave without saying goodbye?" Ignitus asked.

"It seemed to hard to say goodbye." Spyro said ashamed.

Ignitus walked up to Spyro, "Goodbye is not forever."

"Which is why I'm saying it, goodbye everybody." Sparx said.

"Sparx? Where have you been, and what do you me goodbye everybody? Your not coming with us?" Spyro asked.

Sparx shrugged, "I had enough run ins with near death experiences, I'm going to visit the folks for awhile, you know catch up."

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Spyro said.

Cynder said under her breath, "I'm not." Spyro and Cynder said their goodbyes and the elders gave some advice and words of wisdom and then they departed.

The group had been traveling for a few hours and Owen pulled Chad to the side, "Hey can I talk to you?"

"Sue, what do you need?" Chad asked.

"In private." Owen said and Chad nodded. Owen walked to Ace, "Chad and I are going to get some flying in, if that is ok."

Ace nodded, "We meet by a large waterfall with a lake at the base shaped like an eagle, that's where we camp."

Owen fell back to Chad, "Alright." Owen leaped up into the air and turned into a dragon shortly followed by Chad.

Once they gained altitude Chad asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Where to start, I have so many questions." Owen paused, "Well, for starters, how did you get here?"

Chad said, "Portal storm, you kind of dropped me into it. We were on Williamsburg Bridge, New York City, you gave me a letter when we got to New York and told me to keep it on me at all times until I finished everything on it." Chad thought for a moment, "We were going on patrol and the bridge started to collapse and I skidded to the edge. My cycle got caught on the rebar, I was hanging on by the throttle and you came to the edge and said, 'This is where we depart, when you meet me next I will have never met you, follow my instructions exactly.' you cut off the throttle from the cycle and I fell, panic stricken. The next thing I knew I was in this place." Chad paused, "I think I will give you the letter, it has the answers you seek."

Owen nodded, "Where did I find you?"

"I find you." Chad said.

Owen thought that he would wait to ask any more questions until he read the letter, "I'm sorry about your foster parents."

Chad looked away then started to laugh, "You know, knowing that they weren't my real parents, you think the pain of losing them would weaken. Now it is worse, because all the time I spent with them…" Chad shook his head, "Forget it."

__

Ace was at the lead of the group with Ember at his side, "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked Ember.

"About what?" Ember asked.

"About your parents, I would like to know how they died, but you don't have to if you don't want to." Ace said ever looking forward.

Ember shook her head, "No, you have a right to know." Ember sighed, "It was a few days ago, daddy was accused of conspiracy against the Kingdom and mother guilty by association. The jury was the Council, so of course they couldn't have a fair trial. I almost got sentenced with them, but daddy said that I didn't have anything to do with it, and I was let go." Ember regained her thoughts, "My parents had their legs and wings bound and brought to their execution, they were suspended over the pit in the city square. They drew a crowd, my fathers last words were, 'The true king shall return and cast down the Council, long live the King!' then they were dropped, followed by screams of death. A stone slab was pushed over the pit, though no one knows why it is needed." Ember shuddered.

"I'm sorry, it is my fault." Ace said, Ember looked up, "I had your father, Katar, meet me outside the city. The Council probably have spies in the city and we were followed. I'm sorry, but there is hope," Ember looked hopeful, "Your parents may not be dead."

"But how?" Ember asked still hopeful.

Ace scratched his head, "There is a legend that a good and lawful man was sealed in the pit you were talking about, by an evil wizard, he was granted eternal life and transformed into the lowest of all creatures, but anything that look into his eyes would be turned into stone, and cursed with a compelling urge to commit evil to any that live, anything that is not a statue."

"Couldn't he just close his eyes?" Ember asked.

"Ah, but that is just it." Ace said, "The creature he was turned into was a snake, which don't have eyelids. This creature that he was turned into is now know a basilisk." Ember's hope once again vanished.

__

Ty and Kim have been running all day and it was now mid-afternoon. As they entered the clearing many of the werewolves took notice, the younger ones started asking questions of the outside and the older ones of why they came back. Ty quieted them down, "Please, please, we have to speak with the Pack Mother, it is urgent." Ty saw Buck approaching them, Ty said to his sister, "Come on, lets avoid conflict if at all possible." and started to lead his sister out of the crowd.

"Where do you think you are going?" Buck asked, Ty winced and faced Buck shielding Kim, "Now that nobody is here to protect you, we can finished what I started." Buck moved closer and said to Ty, "Move aside runt!"

Ty hesitated, then said, "No."

"What!?" Buck exclaimed.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore, and never will be again." Ty said and whispered to Kim, "Get out of here." Kim ran off into the crowd.

"Get back here!" Buck said starting after Kim but was cut off by Ty, "Move it!"

Ty shifted his feet into a fighting stance, "You are going to have to go through me first."

Buck cracked his knuckles, "I was thinking about killing you anyway, no better time than the present." Ty cracked his neck, "I'm going to rip you limb from limb! Strangle you with your entrails! Paint the cave walls with your blood! Use your bones as tooth…" Buck was so caught up in his speech that he didn't notice Ty running at him until he was punched in the face and staggered back.

"You talk to much." Ty said flexing his hand. The crowd gasped.

Kim said to herself, "Be careful Big Brother."

Buck got up and snarled, "I'm going to make you regret that." Buck charged at Ty and Ty at Buck, Ty leapt into the air and prepared for a jump kick and made contact on Buck's chest but rebounded with no apparent effect. Ty recovered and rolled to the side to avoid Buck's fury of punches, Ty couldn't keep it up and missed a step, Ty was bombarded with blow after blow. Ty tried to recover, but the next thing he knew Buck grabbed him by both arms, raised him in the air and started pulling hard, "First comes the arms."

Ty panicked, tried to remember what Ace taught him during his short training session, _Stay calm no matter what, otherwise your as good as dead_, Ty remembered Ace saying. Ty relaxed and tried to remember more, _Sometime you have to hurt yourself to be victor_. Ty thought for a moment, _This is going to hurt like a bitch_, Ty leaned to his right and there was a loud pop, his left shoulder popped out of it's socket. Ty screamed, half of it was pain the other rage, he twisted and kicked Buck in the face. Buck let go and staggered back, Ty would not give him time to recover, he charged him with his left arm limp. He landed a binding fury of kicks and punches that seemed like a blur, Buck was lucky that one of Ty's arms was immobilized, otherwise it would be worse. Blood was dripping from Buck's mouth, nose, and some scratches. Ty didn't know where the scratches came from until he looked at his hand, his nails were razor sharp claws glistening with crimson blood. Buck gasped for breath and toppled forwards, Ty walked over to him and rolled him over with his foot and placed it on his chest, "Next time, instead of talking about how you are going to kill someone, you should just do it." the crowd erupted in a cheer and Ty popped his arm back into place, "Ah! I knew it, hurt like a bitch."

Kim ran up to Ty and gave him a big hug with tears streaming down her face, "I thought that you were a goner for good when Buck grabbed you."

Ty patted Kim on the back, "Its ok, Buck won't bother us anymore. Will you?" he said to the limp mass of Buck with no response, Ty pressed his foot harder on his chest, "I said will you?" Buck moaned and shook his head with great effort, "Thought so."

Ty saw the Pack Mother walk out of the cave, she looked down at Buck then up to Ty then down to his hands, "I see you've earned your claws…come. We have much to discus." she then walked back into the cave not stopping to see if Ty or Kim was following, but there was no need, they were right behind her.

__

It was late in the evening, Owen and Chad were sitting on a log by the eagle lake, Owen was reading Chad's letter, "You did all of this?" he asked.

Chad nodded, "Look at the last one." Pointing to the last instruction.

_Give the letter to my past self when you are done with the list on the first day of travel, wait until we are alone._

Owen leaned back, "I can honestly say that this answered all of my questions."

"Read the back," Chad said, "That is for you."

Owen flipped over the letter,

_You got the letter I assume, or Chad is reading this, you must copy this letter and every other when the time comes to hand over these to your past self in the future. All letter and notes written on the pages of the Portal Conjuring book must be written exactly down to the period, do not give any non copied letter to your past self or it will cause a paradox. That goes for the history book, Portal Conjuring, and Portal gems or anything that you receive from me, your future self. You may ask yourself, where am I going to get all of this, the question isn't where, but when._

_From,_

_Yourself._

_Put this letter on page 220_

"I can feel my hand cramping already." Owen said, Chad chuckled. Owen heard a twig snap behind them, Owen, without thinking, unsheathed his sword.

Ace and company stepped out from the trees, "You can put that away." Ace said, Owen did, "How long have you been here?"

"About a hour." Chad said getting up.

"Well now you can help set up camp." Ace said taking items off of the pack horse.

Once camp was set up the sun had just set over the horizon and a fire was lit. Owen sat down next to Ace, who was staring at the fire. "Hey, I have been meaning to ask you something." Ace diverted his attention to Owen, "Back when we fought the undead, how come I could understand what they said and not Jas?" Owen asked.

Ace scratched his chin, "I'm sure you could find the answer in your history book, but I'll save you the trouble. A long time ago, I mean a really long time ago, before there was a Kingdom, our family ancestors along with another, use to maintain peace and guide souls to the realm of the dead."

"What?" Owen asked.

Ace shrugged, "You asked. Anyways, there was a battle between mortals and immortals, our ancestors got involved and won it, restoring peace. A deal was struck with the mortals and immortals, the deal was that two Kingdoms would maintain peace, one of dark and one of light. Mine and your mothers." Ace paused.

"That is interesting and all, but that doesn't answer my question." Owen said.

Ace sighed, "The dead only speak one language, it's name has been lost for centuries, all we know is that it is the language of the dead, plain and simple. The only way to talk to the dead is using that language, it cannot be taught or learned, our ancestors were born knowing that language, and that is still true for today. Does that answer your question?" Ace asked.

"Yes, it does. But if there were suppose to be two Kingdoms to maintain peace, why did you and mom get marries, being of different Kingdoms?" Owen asked.

Ace chuckled then said, "Love is the strangest of all things in the world."

__

Ty and Kim followed the Pack Mother into her den, Ty the said, "Pack Mother, I bring an urgent message from King Benjamin."

The Pack Mother had her back towards them pushing aside a fur rug, "Is that so."

"It has to do with the Lunar Medallion." The Pack Mother turned around, "The Council received a threat, from a man named Nexus, to hand it over or risk death. The King wishes the packs assistance in case of battle" Ty said

The Pack Mother gave a small smile, "So my old brother Nexus wants to play games does he? Then we will give him one to remember." she then turned around and pulled out a box from the ground were the rug had been.

Ty's and Kim's eyes widened, Ty asked, "Your brother Mother?"

"Yes, it has been so long I have almost forgotten." she turned and placed the box in front of them, "But that is a story for another time." she undid the lid and pulled out a sheathed dagger, it was a slightly curved dagger with fine gold detail and a wolf head on the pommel, "This belonged to your father." she said sadly.

"Our father!" Kim and Ty said surprised.

The Pack Mother nodded, "He told me to give it to his first born when he earned his claws. That was right before he left the pack."

"But that can't be, we have only been in the pack for five years." Kim said shocked.

The Pack Mother shook her head, "You two were born in the pack, and can only remember the past five years. I would have told you two sooner, but he made me swore before he left not to tell you until you were ready."

Ty and Kim sat in silence for a long while, then Ty asked, "His name, what is his mane and where did he go?"

The Night Mother's face softened, "His name is Cyrus, the last I heard of him was that he went to Benjamin's Kingdom as an ambassador for the pack." She handed Ty the dagger, "It is yours now, and if you find Cyrus, tell him that he is missed by the pack." Ty and Kim got up and bowed and started to leave, "One more thing, tell Ace that the pack still holds the old alliance." Ty and Kim bowed again and exited the Pack Mother's den.

Ty looked at the dagger and then to his hand, to his surprise he saw his claws return to normal and said to himself, "I will find you, father."

----------

**Sorry for the delay on this one, busy time of the year for me, next chapter out hopefully soon.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 15: Regnum of Lux lucis**

"I told you that it is fine." Ty said to Kim while they were running, they have been running nonstop all night to catch up with the others. Kim had been pushing that Ty's arm was still broken.

"As soon as we get to the others you will be better." Kim said caringly, Ty just snorted. They entered a clearing at the base of a waterfall.

"We are here." Ace said, everyone was huddled around a map, "We need to get here." Ace pointed somewhere on the map, Ty and Kim could not see.

Spyro spoke up, "That would be an easy distance to fly, but on foot, it could take three days."

Ace started to role up the map, "That is why we are going to run." Ace turned noticing Ty and Kim for the first time, "How did it go?"

"The Pack will fight with us, everything is as planed." Ty said.

Kim busted out, "Big Brother hurt his arm."

"It's fine." Ty protested.

"How." Ace asked.

Ty shrugged, no so much with his left shoulder, "I got in a fight and…"

"Dislocated his arm!" Kim interrupted, Ty glared at her.

Ace scratched his chin, "Best to let me have a look at it." Ty protested but did as Ace asked, "Lift your arm." Ty couldn't lift it above shoulder level, "Now reach down." Ace proceeded to test Ty's arm flexibility and movement, "You may have torn some muscle…bear with me." Ace raised his hand to Ty's shoulder.

Ty was about to ask what he was doing when his skin started to itch by his shoulder and then to crawl. Ty felt like he was going to jump out of his skin and then it subsided. Panting he asked, "Wha…what did you do?"

"I healed you, consider yourself lucky, if you would have come to me any later it would have been a lot worse." Ace said. Owen was staring wide eyed, "You have much to learn, you to Chad." Ace said to his sons.

The next two days were nothing but hard travel, Owen read his history book, Ace taught the group basic survival and defense, Ember told Ace of what happened in the city while he was gone, and Ty asked questions about Cyrus.

"Did you know a werewolf name Cyrus?" Ty asked.

Ace looked at Ty surprised, "Cyrus, of course, he was captain of the guards, and of daily training. I knew him for a few years, he just appeared out of nowhere and said he was an ambassador of the Pack." Ace paused, "He went back to Pack to speak of his success, then came back and he rose through the ranks. Then Malefor came and, well, you know the story by now. The last time I saw him he was protecting Owen and Chad in their crib from Malefor's minions. Light shine on him." Ace was thinking back, "Why do you ask?"

"The captain of the guards." Ty muttered to himself, then said to Ace, "Because…because the Pack Mother gave me this," Ty showed Ace the dagger, "and told me he was my father."

Ace didn't look surprised, "He told me that he had two children, though I had my suspicions that you were his."

Ty asked, "Then why didn't you tell us?"

Ace stopped, "Because it wasn't my place." he then continued on, "Come on, it is just over this hill." Ace said to the group. As they got on top of the hill the group saw a huge circular city with a towering white castle in the center. Ace addressed the group, "Welcome to Regnum of Lux lucis"

"Its amazing!" Jas exclaimed.

Cynder had glint in her eyes, "It's beautiful!"

"You won't be saying that when you get in the walls." Ember said disgusted and made her way down towards the city.

"What is her problem?" Cynder asked taken aback.

"Don't know." Spyro said and they both followed Ember down.

Evan said to Owen, "Race you down." and ran down the slope.

Owen headed after him then called back, "Jas, Chad, Steve, Tyler, Kim, Boe lets go!" the group started running down the hill, all except Steve.

Steve asked Ace, "Regnum of Lux lucis? That's Latin isn't it? It means Kingdom of Light, if I'm not mistaken."

Ace looked surprised, "I'm surprised that you know that, but I don't know of this Latin you speak of, the language is Vetus Lingua, or Old Language when translated."

"Why Latin, or Vitis Langula, why did you use it to name the kingdom?" Steve asked.

"Vetus Lingua," Ace corrected him, "and we use it because it is the language of power and magic. You might just learn a thing or two in the Kingdom, if your interested, I can see if you have potential."

"Potential for what?" Steve asked.

Ace had started down to hill then stopped, "Spell Crafting of course." Ace continued down the hill. A ways from the front gate Ace stopped everyone, he distributed grey cloaks for everyone who didn't have one, except Spyro, Cynder, and Ember, and a collar for Boe. Boe did not like it but Ace said, "Lets hope someone mistakes him for a large dog." Ace turned to the group, "Pull up your hoods, do not speak your names until we are safe in the castle, do not draw attention to yourselves, and let me do all of the talking. Spyro, Cynder, Ember, stay close and don't look at anyone, just keep your heads down. Owen, Chad, Jas, arm yourselves." They did as told and Ace put on a long sword.

Ace led the way to the front gate and was cut off when the guardsmen spoke, "Halt! By order of the Council all caravans and personnel entering and leaving the city must be inspected." the guardsmen stepped forward, "Names, origin, and business in the Kingdom!" He demanded and eyed their weapons.

Ace pulled out a small leather bag and shook it, it made a clinging sound, the two guards looked at it enviously, "Why don't you forget all of that and let us pass."

The guard licked his lips and looked back to his companion who nodded his head, the guard snatched the leather bag and said, "Welcome to Regnum of Lux lucis traders from Warfang, have a nice day." the guard designated a name to everyone and took a double take at Spyro and Cynder, then sneered at Cynder. The two guards started to divide the gold between them.

Cynder was depressed, "Even in a city I have never been to before they still hate me." She said to Spyro.

"Quiet!" Ace barked at Cynder and she quieted down. They wandered around for awhile, all the while people and dragons begging for coin or food and children running with tattered cloths. They stopped at a rundown inn, it had a battered sign with "The King's Sword" written on it, the sign was faded but the image of a man holding a sword was plain. Ace brought their horse to the pens and they entered the inn, there were a few people at the tables and a lonely woman behind the counter.

The woman didn't look up but said in a sad voice, "Welcome to the King's Sword, how can I help you." she wore a dirty bonnet and dress, she had a dirty face with deep set brown eyes.

Ace walked up to her and leaned on the counter and said in a low voice, "The King comes to wield his sword." Owen wouldn't have heard it if it wasn't for his enhanced hearing.

The woman jerked up and Ace pulled back his hood enough to let her see his face, "By the Ancestors!" She exclaimed in a low hush, "Do you want to get me and everyone in this inn killed? Not to mention your party! You should not be here."

"Do you have a place where we can speak in private?" Ace asked rhetorically.

She glared at him, "Follow me."

They were led into a private dinning room and Ace put down his hood and started to speak, "Now Terry…" Ace was cut off by a slap in the face, Ember gasped.

Owen tried to hide a grin, "Was that necessary?"

Ace rubbed the spot were Terry slapped him, "No I deserved that." Ace was about to talk but was slapped again, "I didn't deserve that."

"The hell you did!" Terry exclaimed, "The King just gets up and leave and expects that everything will be alright! Why the nerve of you!" Terry was about to slap Ace again but Ace grabbed her hand an inch from his face.

"Terry," Ace said looking serious, "I need you to get me into the castle."

Terry stood there for a long time and then pulled her hand free, "What make you think I will risk my neck for you?"

Ace crossed his arms, "Would you rather live under the control of the Council, or me?" Terry didn't say anything for a long time, "Terry!"

"How do I know you won't run off again like you did before, nothing could be important enough for you to do that." Terry was not convinced.

Ace motioned for Chad and Owen to come forward, he pulled back their hoods, "You remember my sons don't you?" Ace asked.

Terry stumbled back, "What trick is this? They should be half, no a fourth of the age they are now." Ace explained why he left the Kingdom and why he came back. "Alright, I'll help you, you bullheaded fool. But you owe me for this." she quickly added.

"Name it." Ace said.

Terry thought for a moment then turned around, back towards them, "Promise me…promise me that you will bring down the Council, and restore the Kingdom to it's formal beauty, I don't know how much more the people can take."

"On my honor." Ace said placing his hand under his left collarbone.

Terry laughed, "I suppose that is all you have left to swear to." she quieted down, "We start as soon as it is dark." she then left the room.

As soon as Terry was gone Ember stomped, "The nerve of that woman!"

Ace chuckled, "I'd watch your tongue if I were you, she was the best assassin in the Order." Ember quieted down, Ace echoed himself, "Was…I wonder what happen to the rest of the Order." Ace paused then said, "Meet back here at the first hint of dark, explore the city, do what you want, just don't attract attention. That is that last thing we need." Ace then headed to Terry to organize the operation.

Owen clapped his hands, "Well you heard him, lets go see the city."

"Remember not to attract attention." Spyro reminded him.

"You better listen to your own words." Owen said, "I'm not the renowned purple dragon that saved the world." Owen headed for the door, "Anybody else?" Owen asked.

Chad followed his brother, "I think N.Y.C. is bigger, but I suppose I'll come."

"Me to." Jas said, "And I doubt that Chad. I mean, did you see how big it was?"

"I'll come to." Ember said, "That is, if it alright."

Owen said, "You don't have to ask permission Ember."

Cynder spoke up, "I think I will stay here, to many people seem to remember my crimes." Cynder sounded depressed, that guard seemed opened up old wounds.

"What will we do Big Brother?" Kim asked Ty.

Ty said without hesitation, "I was thinking of going to the stable and sleep in the straw until tonight."

"Aw, your no fun." Kim said.

Everyone laughed, Owen asked Steve and Evan, "What about you two?"

Evan said, "I'm going to wander around, see what this place holds."

"I think that I will help Ace and Terry." Steve said, "They might need help."

Kim jumped to Evan's side, "I'm going with Evan, who knows, it might be interesting spending the day with a human."

Owen shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever, were going." Owen and his group started out the door, "Good luck Evan." and with that everyone parted.

__

Ty was laying in a big pile of straw, he inhaled, he smelt fresh straw and the subtle smell of horse. The few horses that were there were quiet enough, not to loud, not to quiet, everything was peaceful to Ty's mind. Ty heard a person enter the stable but thought nothing of it, the footsteps were getting closer and closer then they stopped. Ty opened up one eye, a big bald man with broad shoulders was standing over him, he wore a leather vest and a dirty apron.

"Lazing around like always, typical." the man said in a booming voice, "Well come on we don't have all day." with one hand the man picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

Ty was terrified, "Hey, mister! I think you have the wrong person, I just got here!"

"Oh no, you are not pulling any tricks on me this time, and you are not going to shirk your duties. Your parents wanted a blacksmith as a son, damn it, I'll give them one." the man said.

"Blacksmith?" Ty asked himself, "Listen, I'm telling you that you have the wrong person!" the man wasn't listening, Ty tried with all of his might to free himself, but even with his werewolf strength he could not free himself.

The man looked nevertheless surprised, "We will also put that strength of yours to use."

Ty gave up and looked in front of him, a boy in a grey cloak came out of the stable then ran in the opposite direction, _Just my luck_, Ty thought, _I should have stayed with the others_.

__

Ace got rooms for those in the group that stayed, Spyro and Cynder were occupying one. The room was small and had a medium bed with a feather mattress and tattered décor, "You have to let go." Spyro said to Cynder, "It wasn't your fault and anyone who says otherwise is wrong."

Cynder was sitting on the bed, "It's not as easy as you think, you are not the one that had to live under his influence all your life."

"That may be true, but it doesn't mean that I'm not right." Spyro said comfortingly, "You just have to let go."

Cynder flicked her tail annoyed, "Why can't you understand? I killed innocent people, their lives were shattered, I did it without regret or remorse. You tell me to let go, you try living my life, you try to live with the suffering that I've caused! Once you even glimpse at what I have done then maybe, just maybe, you will understand why I cannot let go!" Cynder was unknowingly cutting the bed with her scythe-like tail.

"Cynder." was all Spyro said.

"Why don't you trying to let go of something? You are always telling me to!" She barked.

Spyro leaped onto the bed next to Cynder and said looking her into the eyes, "Because you are the only thing I have to let go of."

Cynder relaxed and felt ashamed for yelling at Spyro, "I'm…I'm sorry for yelling at you. Its just that I can't forgive myself."

"Then let me do it for you." Spyro said and Cynder looked at him, "Cynder, I forgive you for all of the pain you have caused."

Cynder leaned on Spyro, "Thank you, you are the first to forgive my sins." Cynder started to cry on his shoulder, "I could let g…go if I wanted to. B…but I c…can't until everyone forgives m…me." Cynder continued to let her tears flow.

Spyro wrapped one wing around her, "It's alright, you don't need anybody to forgive you, you just need to forgive yourself."

Cynder eventually stopped crying, "Spyro, I think that is the last person that is going to forgive me." Cynder pulled her head up.

"Everything takes time." Spyro responded.

Cynder yawned, "I think that I'll catch a few winks before tonight." and laid down on the bed, to her surprise Spyro laid down next to her then she smiled, "Sweet dreams Spyro." She then turned so her back was to his belly.

Spyro put his mouth to Cynder's ear, "Sweet dreams, my love." Sleep slowly took hold of the both of them, and they dreamed, about each other.

__

Evan and Kim were walking through the streets and Kim asked once again, "Where are we going?"

Evan was more than a bit annoyed, "For the last time I don't know. I'm just wondering around."

"That is what you said last time." Kim said mockingly.

"Yea, and you'll get the same answer until I do know where we are going." Evan said.

"Ok." Kim said, "And where are we going?"

Evan turned to face Kim, "Can you please not ask that again?" Evan was bigger than most people and didn't like using his brawn, but he was close to it.

Kim didn't say a word. They continued on for awhile then she asked, "What is going on over there?"

Evan was relived she didn't ask where they were going, Evan turned and saw a big man carrying a person over his shoulder. The person over his shoulder said, "For the last time I'm not who you think you are."

The man just laughed. Kim sounded horrified, "That was Big Brother."

Evan scratched his head, "Hey Kim, you wanted to know were we are going?" he pointed to the smithy that the big man carried Ty into, "We are going there." Kim let out a yip of joy and followed Evan into the smithy.

Upon entering the man was scolding Ty, "The next time you run off I'll skin you alive and hang you out to dry!"

"Excuse me." Evan said to the blacksmith, the big man turned around, "I believe you have the wrong person their."

He stepped up to Evan, he was taller than Evan, but not by much, "I don't care if he is or isn't. I have an order of knives to fill out in three hours and he is going to help me." he said pointing to Ty.

Evan scratched his head, he always like to think things through before he did anything, "How about I work for you and you let my friend there go?" the blacksmith crossed his arms, he was at least listening, "I know a little bit about forging, and wouldn't you want a stronger guy that knows enough not to lose a limb instead of weakling that is mediocre, at best, at forging?" Evan wasn't lying, in the summer he would help his uncle make horse shoes.

"Hey!" Ty exclaimed, but Evan gave him a look to shut up.

The blacksmith scratched his chin the held out his hand, "You are now in the service of Sven Burnsteel."

Evan shook his hand, "Evan Smith." he winched because he forgot to use the name the guard gave him.

"Well don't stand there! We have an order to fill, apprentice." Sven said shooed Ty out the door, "Away with you." he turned to face Kim, "And you lass, leave or stay out of the way." Kim moved to a stool next to the door without complaint, "And I don't want to hear a peep out of you."

Evan took off his cloak and shirt and replaced it with one of the leather vests and aprons, "What kind of knives are we making?" Evan worked the bellows, "Nothing fancy, just some knives for the butcher down the street." before Evan could asked Sven gave the order of knives, it was a basic order to Evan's knowledge for a butcher. Kim sat there on her stool watching Evan work, Kim though that all humans were weak, but she sat soundlessly.

Evan was vaguely aware of his surroundings, he would pump the bellows until the forge got to the right temperature, then he would take a piece of steel and stick it in with a pair of tongs until it got white hot. He would then pull it out and take it to the anvil and shape it into a blade and then stick it in a bucket of water. He then put the blade back into the forge until it got to a white yellow, he put the blade on a rack to cool, if he put it back into the water it would ruin the temper on the blade that he just made. He tried not to think of Kim staring at him intently, he was glad that the forge was hot otherwise his blush would be clear. Girls usually had that effect on him.

__

Owen, Chad, and Jas had been following Ember through the city, she was the only one that knew where they were going. All the while Jas had the strong feeling of someone watching her. "What's wrong?" Owen asked.

Jas looked over her shoulder, "Have you ever had the feeling that someone is watching you?"

"Jas we're in a city, of course someone is watching you." Chad said, "We're new here." Chad eyed the people in the street, "I wouldn't blame them if they don't trust us."

Jas shook her head, "No this is different, I feel like I'm being watched, but I also feel like I'm draw to something." Jas looked up at the building in front of them and stopped, everyone was continuing on. The sign read "Fortune Telling" Jas then said to the group, "You go on ahead, I want to check this place out."

Owen nodded and Ember said, "Be careful, anybody could want to put a blade between your ribs."

Jas walked into the building, "Hello?" nobody answered, "The door was open." she walked into another room, their was a woman in a brown robe sitting at a table, she had violet hair and eyes, there were cups on the table and a kettle, the woman was holding one of the cups.

"Sit." was all the woman said, she sounded young and her face was smooth. Jas cautiously took the empty chair. They sat there for awhile then the woman asked, "Would you like some tea?"

Jas shook her head, "No thank you."

"Oh come now, it will clear you head." The woman started to pour a cup for Jas and handed it to her, "Drink."

Jas took a sip and tried not to gag, "Thank you."

The woman smiled then said, "Where are my manners, my name is Violet."

"I'm Jas." Jas paused, "Jasmine." She never liked to use her full name, but somehow she felt that it was right to give Violet her real and full name.

Violet smiled, "I know much about you Jasmine." Jas just sat there, "Like that you are not from this world, that your friends are going to infiltrate the castle, that you wish you knew how I know all of this, I know that you and I are the same in more ways than you know."

Jas stood up, "I should go."

"It is not wise for a young Psychic to wander untrained." Violet said with a grin and took a sip of tea.

Jas took a step back, "Who are you and how do you know all of this?"

Violet set her tea on the table, "I am the former administrator of King Benjamin and am what you are." Jas's tea cup rose off the table and towards Jas, it had a purplish outline, Jas plucked it out of that air, "I have much to teach you, and you have much to learn. Are you willing to take my offer?"

Jas had to think, _Another Psychic! I thought that Terador said they preferred solitude? But I wonder if I will get another chance to learn from another Psychic. Yes, I will accept her help._ Jas was about to give her answer, but Violet cut her off.

"Your fist lesson is to shield your thoughts." Violet said, "If you can mange that, maybe you have some hope yet." Jas's eyes were bulging, "You have much to learn."

__

Ember was leading Chad and Owen into the city square, but something caught Owen's eye. Down an ally he saw some people fighting with wooden swords, a small crowd was gathered around. "You guys go on ahead, I want to see something."

"Fine." Chad said, "Just don't get lost or draw attention."

Owen was walking away and said, "I'm not making promises." Owen left Ember and Chad and headed down the ally with Boe behind him, the closer he got the sound of cheering became clearer. Owen pushed his way through the crowd and saw two men, one standing atop another.

"Anybody else want to fight me?" the man on top said, nobody said anything, "Nobody? Come on you yellow belly cowards!"

Owen thought to himself, _I wonder if Spyro would find that offensive?_

The man scanned the crowd, he set his eyes on Owen's sword, "Looks like we have a swordsman in the crowd!" he pointed at Owen with the wooden sword, "Do you have the guts?" Owen thought it was best not to get involved and tried to make his way out, but the crowd pushed him into the ring.

"Alright! Aright!" Owen said. Boe growled and some of the people backed off

"Arm yourself!" the man in the ring said. Someone in the crowd threw a wooden sword to Owen, Owen grabbed it and took the stance. "Take off your bloody cloak!" Owen hesitated then took it off, people in the crowd gasped, the man touched under his right collar bone with his left hand, "That be a bloody dangerous symbol to wear lad." Owen had forgotten that his shirt had the Order of the Dragon's insignia on it, "You better put up a good fight."

Owen took up his stance once more, "One fight, that's it." he said. The man charged and Owen dodged, for some reason everything seemed slow to him. Owen made an uppercut and stabbed, the crowed gasped. The man charged but Owen smacked his hand knocking out his sword and brought his up to his neck.

The man stood their, "Your form is sloppy, one day you will fight one who is just as fast as you and you won't be able to beat him. You better have a trick or two then.''

"Thanks for the advice." Owen said, someone through him his cloak and he left the ally. When he was in the street he heard commotion coming from the city square and ran in that direction, _I hope Chad didn't cause that._

__

Chad and Ember had just left Owen behind and made it into the square, it was a massive open area with a large circular slab in the center and full of people. "What is going on over there?" Cad asked pointing to the slab. The Slab was suspended overhead and a large wooden crane held a woman over the pit the slab covered. She was vary beautiful.

"An execution." Ember said, she had fear in her voice.

A mans voice echoed over everyone else, "This peasant is guilty for not accepting the Head of the Royal Council, Count Linnaeus, hand in marriage. The price for denying the all powerful Count Linnaeus for any reason is death." The man on the platform paused then said, "Is there any who denies this action?"

Chad shook his head and said to Ember, "This is wrong."

"It doesn't matter, his word is law." Ember said then sadly, "and nobody is brave enough is brave enough to stand up to him."

"It's still wrong, and I'm not going to let her die." Chad knelt down to eye level to Ember, "If anything happens just keep on running until you get back to the inn."

"What are going to do?" Ember asked.

Chad stood up, "Save a life."

"It's madness!" Ember squealed.

Chad laughed, "Then it is right up my ally." Chad started to walk to the slab, on the way he grabbed a black scarf from somebody, he said, "Borrowing not stealing." when the person protested. He then tied it around his face so it shrouded the lower half of his face.

The man on the platform the spoke up, "No objections? Then the executioner may proceed." Chad started to go into a trot while pushing people aside. A man on the platform in a black hood that covered his entire face put his hand on a lever, Chad started to run. The executioner slowly pulled the lever, Chad was running as fast as he could while pushing people out of the way. The executioner pulled the lever, the woman started to fall, Chad threw down his arms and launched himself in the air with his power of darkness like he did when he chased after Nexus. People screamed, Chad spun in the air and caught the woman and landed on the other side of the pit.

Ember had flown on top of a house to get a better view, "You blasted fool, you'll never escape now."

Chad stood up and helped to woman to her feet, "Are you ok?"

"I…I think so." she said shaken.

The man on the platform called out, "Guards! Seize him!"

Chad said urgently, "You have to get out of here, I'll hold them off."

"Thank you! I will never be able to repay your kindness!" She said.

"You can repay me by getting out of hear." Chad said and the guards swarmed in. "I'll make an opening and you run for it."

The guards made a triple ring of guards around Chad, "By royal decree I place you under arrest." one of the guards said, presumably the captain by his decorated uniform.

Chad surveyed his opponents with his icy blue eyes, "Yea? Well by my decree you all are going to get you asses kicked." Chad saw Ember on top of a building, _What the hell is she doing? She should have been running._ The guards closed in.

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**Sorry for cutting it off, the chapter would have been longer but then it would have gotten to lengthy. So I thought that this was a good place to stop. I use Latin as magic words in this story and I'm not ripping it off of anything if it is from something. The reason is of Catholic belief and exorcisms, so I thought it would tie in with Earth's history. Next Chapter out soon.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 16: Infiltration**

Evan had just finished the last knife. Sven inspected his work, "Could be better, not the work of a master blacksmith, but at the price the butcher is paying me a few imperfections won't hurt."

Evan was drenched in sweat, "Thanks for the compliment, I think."

"So how long are you staying in the Kingdom?" Sven asked wrapping up the blades.

Evan wiped his face with a cloth, "Depends if we get…if my friends get their business done with."

Sven eyed Evan suspiciously, "Well, if you are staying for awhile you are welcome to my forge. You can clean up now, we're done for the day."

Evan took off his apron and leather vest but held onto the vest for awhile, "Do you mind if I have this?"

Sven looked up, "I got plenty enough, and I doubt that I will have more than two apprentices at a time…keep it."

"Thanks." Evan started to put on the vest when he noticed that Kim was still staring at him, he paused then put on the vest, _Does she have to stare at me like that? It feels like she is going to pounce on me._

Kim was surprised by Evan's display of strength, _He is stronger than I thought, if he was another species I might have take interest in him. _Kim paused, _But he is cute, for a human._

"Come on." Sven said, "We have to deliver the knives." and he walked out the door, Evan and Kim followed him out.

__

Steve was sitting at the bar in the inn and noticed Ty entering. Steve thought that Ty muttered something about a blacksmith. "How is the city?" Steve asked, Ty just snorted.

Ace came out with Terry behind him, Terry was in black leather and had her green hair tied back with a leather cord, various blades were sheathed on her person. Steve guessed that she had more bladed hidden else ware, Ace was wearing chain mail, brown leather gloves, plain green pants, and knee high boots, he had his long sword at his hip along with a bow and arrows on his back. "So we wait for the first part of the plan to start?" Ace asked Terry.

"If your boys are anything like you it should be vary soon." Terry said tightening her straps.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, "I thought that we were going tonight?"

Ace sat at the bar, "Only Owen and Chad needed to know that." Ty started rubbing his ears, "Something wrong?" ace asked.

"Something is going on outside, I hear people screaming." Ty said, "It's annoying."

Ace looked at Terry and she nodded, Ace said to Steve and Ty, "Lets go boys, tonight's plan is happening now. Steve go get Spyro and Cynder." Ace and Terry ran out the door and Ty followed.

Steve sighed, "Why am I always the messenger boy?" Steve then walked up the stairs to the bedrooms. Steve knocked on Cynder's door, "Hey you in there?…Hey!" Steve opened the door, "Ace said that we are going to…" Steve saw Cynder and Spyro in bed and got the wrong idea. He stumbled backwards out of the room, "I did not need to see that!"

Spyro and Cynder jerked awake, "Steve?" Spyro asked, "What's wrong?"

Steve was around the corner of the door, "I really am sorry I walked in on you, but Ace said we move now."

Spyro and Cynder blushed, Cynder said, "Steve, we weren't…"

"I don't want to know!" Steve interrupted then ran down the hall out of the inn, _The first thing I am going to do when I learn magic is learn how to forget._

Spyro asked Cynder, "Did he think that we were…"

"Yes." Cynder said quickly, it surely was an awkward moment for them.

Changing the subject quickly Spyro said, "Steve said something about moving now. I guess that means that we get in the castle now." Cynder just nodded her head and they walked out of the inn in silence. They then headed for the square.

__

Violet had Jas demonstrate her abilities, "With a few years of training you could be one of the strongest Psychics in a thousand years." Jas smiled at the compliment, "But all of the training in the would will not help you if you cannot control your thoughts." Violet took a sip of tea, "Try to lift this cup while I try to penetrate your mind, if I succeed you will lose concentration." Violet tossed the cup to Jas and Jas caught it with her power, almost immediately she felt like someone was banging on her head with a hammer. She tried to block it out but that didn't work, she tried to imagine a wall but that didn't work, and she tried to fight back but that worked the least of all. Jas lost concentration and the cup fell, Violet caught with her telepathy and said, "Not bad for a first attempt, but you need to try harder."

"I'm doing the best I can!" Jas exclaimed.

Violet shook her head, "Try holding on to something you hold dear to you; friends, family, pride," Violet paused then smiled, "a lover." Jas blushed a little, "Anything you hold close to you." Violet tossed the cup at Jas, "Again." Jas caught the cup with telepathy and the onslaught on her mind began, Jas imagined herself holding onto Owen, and he to her. The pain in her mind began to weaken but was still present, Jas remembered something Owen once told her long ago, _"I will always be with you." _, Jas looked at Violet, she was smiling, "You have executed something in a few minutes that would normally take months of training."

"Thank you." Jas said gratefully.

There was shouting outside, "What is going on out there?" Violet asked to herself. Jas followed her out and they saw people running, "They are running from the square…someone had freed someone who was going to be executed…a boy in black is surrounded by guards…a boy in white is fighting towards them…and they are both wearing," Violet gasped, "the Order of the Dragons insignia!"

"Owen and Chad!" Jas exclaimed, "We have to help!"

Violet threw her hand towards her house and a ivory staff with a violet outline came flying out, "Come on!" Violet ran towards the square. Jas opened her staff pouch and assembled it with telepathy, Violet smiled.

__

Sven and Evan had just delivered the knives, "I'm surprised he thought the knives were top line." Evan said.

"I'm surprised that he paid you a tip." Kim said.

Sven just chuckled then noticed the people running, "I wonder what is going on?" He grabbed a person and asked, "What is going on?"

The man was panic stricken, "Two boys are fighting the guards, they wear the Order of the Dragon's insignia!"

"Chad and Owen!" Evan exclaimed.

Sven raised and eyebrow, "Friends of yours?" He put the man down, "Thank you." Sven pulled out two brass knuckles and handed them to Evan, "Your friends are going to need some help." Evan took and put them on and flexed his hands, Sven pulled out another set and put them on, "This is going to be great fun."

__

Owen still had the wooden sword from the ally and was striking at guards, _Stupid Chad!,_ Owen swatted at a mans wrist and knocked the mans sword out, _Stupid guards!_, Owen grabbed a shield and plowed through the guards trying to get to Chad,_ Stupid, stupid, stupid!_, Owen made it to Chad, "Don't draw attention! Weren't those your words!"

"Owen!" Chad said in surprise, Chad lost his cloak in the fighting, Chad flourished at the men, "Now is not the time!" Chad stayed near a woman in the fetal position on the ground, "Protect the girl!"

A volley of arrows came from the roofs, Owen threw himself over the woman taking them all in his back. The woman screamed, "Why would you do that?" she asked.

Owen grinned, "Death will not come easily for this soul." The woman seemed confused, Owen felt like the words he said weren't right,_ Did I just speak the language of the Dead?_ he thought to himself. Owen got up and some of the guards hesitated, "Now listen up, I do not want to kill you. But I will if I have to, and I will win." _I hope they buy my bluff._

A man started to charge at Owen but an arrow hit the ground at his feet, everyone looked up. Ace was standing on top of a building with a white flag behind him held by Ty, the flag had the Order of the Dragon insignia on it, Terry behind them. Ace spoke up, "I see you all met my sons! Everyone who still holds loyal to the King lay down your arms! I come to claim my throne!"

There was a pause, then some of the guards threw down their swords, some called them, "Traitors.", or, "Infidels."

"All hail the King!" was heard from the corner of the crowd of guards, A violet haired woman stood out.

"The King has come!" was heard from a tall broad shouldered man from the other corner.

"The Order Rises!" was heard from a group of men with wooden swords in hand and real ones on their hips.

Ace nodded to all of them, "All who are still loyal stand aside! All that are not are sentenced to death by my blade." The men around Owen and Chad and some in the crowd started to move out of the square.

"Owen!" Owen turned to see Jas running to him, "Are you ok?" Jas motioned to the arrows in his back.

Owen winched when she touched them, "I'll be fine." Ace jumped down from the houses and came to Owen, he pulled out all of the arrows, "AHH! What was that for?"

"The arrows would have disturbed your form." Ace said, Violet, Sven, and the men from the ally came to Ace, he greeted them "Violet…Sven…Brad."

"I see you still remember us." the man from the ally Owen faced, presumably Brad, said.

Ace nodded, "I see some are still loyal." Evan, Ty, Kim, and Terry, who seemed to step out of nowhere, came to near Ace and the other.

The group of men placed their right hand, in a fist, under their left collar bone and said, "To uphold peace and justice in the land."

"Kill the Infidels!" was heard from the crowd, the guards who hadn't threw down their swords charged at the group.

Ace drew his sword, "Take no prisoners! They had their chance to flee!" Ace charged at the guards, he was followed by those who still kept their oaths. The men from the ally threw down their wooden swords and drew their real ones and followed Ace.

Chad picked up a wooden sword, "It is one thing to kill in defense, another in offense."

"But Ace said not to take any prisoners." Evan said.

"I don't care! They are still human, and they will be treated like humans." Chad faced the group, "Use non lethal attacks, knock out is fine, use lethality as a last resort."

Jas leaned on her staff, "Won't Ace be mad?"

Owen joined his brother, "Yes, but Chad is right, I doubt any of us could bring ourselves to kill living people."

Ty pushed Owen and Chad aside and kicked the solider behind them in the ribs, "I doubt they can say the same." Ty then threw the guard into the crowd.

"Follow my lead," Chad said leaping into the crowd, "cover each others backs."

Everyone charged, "Don't leave us out." They looked up to see Spyro and Cynder descending from the quickly said, "Non lethal attacks only." then added, "Chad's orders."

Spyro and Cynder nodded and rushed off into the crowd and Owen followed. _Killing people?_ Owen thought, _I don't think I could bring myself to it_, Owen smacked the wooden sword against a mans head and he crumpled, _But If I'm not careful I may do it by accident_.

Evan socked a guard in the gut and the guard went to the ground, Evan picked him up by his collar, "I don't want to fight you!" Evan yelled, the guard just ginned. Evan was blindsided and fell to the ground, a guard with a spear stood over him. The guard raised his spear ready to stick it in Evan's throat, Evan yelled, their was a bright flash.

__

Evan was in a white room, it looked like a study. It had book shelves, drawers, obscured paintings, and a man in a black cloak behind an white desk cluttered with papers and books, his face was shrouded by his hood, he appeared to be writing something. The man looked up and sighed, "You have to be more careful Evan."

"Who are you and where am I?" Evan asked, Evan could barely make out the man's mouth.

The man put his quill in the ink well, "I am Fate, to be specific I am the Keeper of Fate, you can call me Keeper if you like, and you are in my domain." Keeper gestured to a window, "Take a look."

Evan looked at the window,_ Was that there before?_ he asked himself. Evan cautiously to the window to the left of Keeper, he saw twisted buildings that bent towards each other, Evan didn't think it possible then realized that it was one building connected by hallways, it made Evan's stomach churn trying to comprehend it. Evan turned around and found himself standing in front of Fate's desk, "Whoa!"

"Please have a seat." Keeper said. Evan turned around and saw a cushioned chair behind him and slowly sat down.

Evan wasn't sure if this was real or not, "How is this possible?'

Fate put his hands on the desk, "That is complicated, but to put it bluntly, my realm, my rules." Fate started to write again, "Now the reason you are hear, you were in a battle…"

"Did I die?" Evan asked panicking.

"No, well, not yet." Fate said almost amused, "Before you say anything, I am here to make a deal." Evan leaned forward, "I can make it so you won't die, for a small thing…"

Evan stood up, "NO!" Fate's expression didn't change, "I am not making a deal, whenever people make deals with powerful beings it always backfires." Fate leaned back in his chare and snapped his fingers. Evan was back on the ground with the guard over him and stabbed the spaer into Evan's neck, Evan tried to scream but couldn't, Sven punched the guard in the face and his fist came out the back of the guard's head. Sven pulled the spear out and shook Evan, Sven's lips were moving but Evan couldn't hear anything, all went black.

Evan was on his hands and knees in the Keeper of Fate's study, he grabbed his throat and gasped. Fate was writing at his desk, "You just experienced what will happen if you don't except my offer. Do you want to go through it a second time."

Evan coughed and rubbed his neck, "No, no Keeper." Evan stood up, "But I'm not sure I want to accept your offer."

Fate slammed his hand on the desk "I am not like my brother's and sister's, I will not betray you. I just ask that in return for me helping you, you help me."

Evan eyed his suspiciously, "With what?"

"You will find out when the time comes." Fate paused, "you must understand that I can only give you protection against anything made, not magic." Fate continued writing, "See Benjamin to remedy that." Keeper looked up, "So, what say you."

Evan stepped forward, "I will not betray my friends or get myself killed."

"Oh I can see that you won't." Keeper laughed at a joke that only he saw, "So do we have a deal." He stuck out his hand.

Evan hesitated, he then grabbed Fate's hand, it felt human enough, "You have a deal, as long as I don't have to betray my friends or die."

Fate smiled, "Then sign hear." He held out the paper he was writing on, it was a contract, he handed Evan a needle, "In your blood." Evan reluctantly grabbed it and pricked his finger and signed his name, _Evan Smith_. Fate took the contract, "Remember, we have a deal." Fate pulled a metallic spear out of the air, it hovered above Fate's desk, "Grab it in both hands." Evan did so and the spear started to melt, the liquid started to spread all over his body consuming him, "You may develop a rash, but it should be gone in a few days."

Evan struggled but the metallic liquid held his body in place, "Are you serious?" the liquid started to cover his face.

"Yes." Fat said amused. The liquid started to seep into Evan's skin, bonding itself to every part of his body, once every part of his body was bonded to the liquid Fate said, "My end of the bargain is fulfilled." Evan staggered, "It may take some time for your body to adapt, but now your body is impervious to anything made, your body will become stronger in time. Now it is time for you to leave." The Keeper of Fate waved his hand and their was a bright flash.

__

Evan was back on the ground with the guard over him and the spear was stabbed at his neck, their was the sound of metal crumpling. Sven punched the guard in the face and the guard fell to the ground clenching his face, Sven helped Evan up, "Are you alright lad?"

Evan felt like his body weighed more than it should, "I…I think so." Sven held up the spear, the point was bent like an accordion, Sven looked at Evan, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." That seemed enough to satisfy Sven. Jas, Owen, Spyro and Cynder were only a few paces away, Evan walked over to them. a guard struck Evan with a sword, their was a ringing sound, Evan was not phased, another guard hit Evan with a war hammer on the head, the hammer split in half and the guard went running. As Evan got closer he saw Steve holding a shield and sword and Kim lashing out at guards.

Steve yelled, "There is too many of them!"

Cynder said, "I got an idea. Jas can you send my power of fear in to the guards minds?"

Jas did a back flip, "I don't know, worth a try."

Owen said, "We'll cover you."

Cynder attacked Jas with her Fear attack and Jas projected it into the minds of the guards. Their was a red pulse that spread across the square, the guards paused, their was screaming, another pulse, the guards started falling on the ground, another pulse, the guards started passing out or running out of the square, another pulse, Jas fell on her knees panting.

"Jas!" Owen yelled, he ran to Jas and caught her, "Are you alright?"

"She faced her worse fears." Cynder said, "I'm sorry, but their was no other way to my knowledge."

Ty appeared out of the crowd, his hands were covered in blood, Evan said, "Looks like you had fun."

Ty grimaced when he looked at his hands, "Non lethal."

Jas stirred, Owen said, "You ok?" Jas nodded.

Violet came over, "An extraordinary display, you took out all of the guards."

Jas smiled, "I had help." she nodded to Cynder.

"Can you walk?" Owen asked, Jas nodded.

Ace was cleaning his blade, "We don't have much time, I don't want to be hear when they wake up." he then started to walk up the steps to the castle followed by his small army, including Violet, Sven, and Terry.

Owen helped Jas up and half supported her, "Is it me or does Ace seem hell bent on getting to the castle?" Owen asked, "He wasn't this way when we got hear."

"His motives may have changed when he saw those in the street." Spyro said, Cynder behind him, "He might not have realized how bad it was until now."

Chad was checking the pulses of random guards on the ground to see if they were alive or not. Ember glided down from a building, without looking up Chad said, "I thought I told you to leave." Ember looked at the ground saying nothing, "No matter, no harm done." Ember brightened a little, Chad stood up, "We have to follow dad I suppose, quick double time." he then ran to the castle with everyone behind, "Evan hurry up!" Chad yelled looking back.

Evan was in a slow jog, "I'm trying, my body feels like it weighs a ton!"

"Try harder!" Chad yelled, Evan didn't quicken his pace, "Just make sure you are there when we need you." and continued on.

Boe ran up next to Owen who was still supporting Jas, "Human blood tastes foul." Boe barked to Owen.

"Just don't acquire a taste for it." Owen responded.

"Taste for what?" Jas asked.

Owen smiled, "Oh, nothing." Jas gave him an awkward look. The group was now not even halfway up the stairs.

__

Ace entered the grand chamber, his group of followers were holding off the castle guard, at least those who didn't throw down their blades. Ace took a step, the room was large like a cathedral, high ceiling, pillars that had a suit of armor before them, and beautiful stain glass high behind the royal throne. The stain glass was separated into three vertical sections, the center had a man in shining armor holding a white sphere with both hands above his head, light seemed to be irradiating from it, with his head held high and white wings pointed towards the ceiling, the background looked like crystal catching every color imaginable. The one's to the left and right each had an angel kneeling and looking at the man with the same background, the one to the right of the center stain glass was wearing a blue garment presenting a forked cross guard sword to the man in the center stain glass, the one to the left wore a red garment and was presenting a shield with white wings outlined in gold on the front and gold trim around the edge.

Ace looked at the stain glass masterpiece then looked at the high back throne, it was empty. Ace smiled to himself, "Come out an show yourself."

A voice came from behind the throne, "What do you want?" the voice was a man's, a big mans, "What do you want? Food? Fame? Fortune? I will give you what you want, just spare my life."

Ace seemed amused, "Come out from behind there Alexander." Slowly an obese man came out from behind the throne, he had black hair tied in a pony tail and had a big tight face, his belly was large and he was decorated in a robe embroidered in gold, apparently nothing else would fit him. "By the Ancestors you've gotten fat!"

"No need to be rude." Count Linnaeus said cowardly, "Now what do you want?"

Ace paced the back and forth, "I suppose you don't remember me do you?" Linnaeus seemed confused, "After all, I did grow the beard I wanted," Ace said scratching his chin, "and it has been little over four years."

The Count gasped, "You are suppose to be dead."

Ace stepped forward, "Then you are talking to a ghost."

"What do you want?"

"My throne that you stole!" Ace marched forward, "Who gave you the right to take the throne!"

Alexander shrank back, "What was I suppose to do? Let the Kingdom go into anarchy?"

"Anarchy would have been better than your reign." Ace said drawing his sword.

"What are you going to do to me?" Ace was going to respond when Count Linnaeus shouted, "Guards! Seize him!" out of the side corridors came fifty guards, some had bloody tunics, and surrounded Ace in a double circle. "what are you waiting for? Get him!"

Ace grinned, "All of those who strike me will be charged with treason." The guards shifted, "Your King has come to cast down this traitor," he said pointing his sword at Count Linnaeus, "and restore peace. All who hold true to their oaths, stand down."

From the ring of guards came, "Prove your claim." followed by mummers of agreement.

"Why are you hesitating? Kill him!" Count Linnaeus exclaimed.

Ace pulled out his belt knife, "You want proof, I'll give you proof." Ace threw off his chain mail and stabbed himself in the top right of his chest and dragged it down to his left hip, cutting his tunic and flesh and scraping across his ribcage. Some of the guards gagged, some gasped, ace pulled out the knife and dropped it and tore his tunic even more to reveal his self inflicted wound. The white steam started from the bottom and worked it's way up revealing new uncut skin all the way up the top. The last of the steam crossed over a tattoo under Ace's right collarbone, it was unrecognizable at first, but it healed revealing the Order of the Dragon insignia with a crown over it. "You wanted proof, there is your proof."

The guards stood staring at Ace in amazement, "Imposter! Kill him!" Count Linnaeus exclaimed, face red, "By my order I command you to kill him!"

__

Chad was running down a hall with the group behind him, "Kill him!" was heard echoing down the hall.

"Oh no." Chad said.

"By my order I command you to kill him!" the same voice echoed.

Owen said, "Come on, we need to hurry."

"But which way?" Steve asked.

"Hold on." Ty said, a moment latter there was a man screaming, "Down this hallway, the next left." Chad and Owen nodded and ran where Ty said with Jas right behind.

"How do you know?" Cynder asked.

Ty broke into a run as with the rest of everyone else, "I have good hearing, all I had to do was listen."

"That could come in handy." Spyro said.

Chad, Owen, and Jas turned down the hall with Ty and the others behind, except Evan. As they entered they saw about fifty guards, two were holding a pudgy man, he yelled, "This is treason! You obey me! Me! I will have all of your heads on a platter!"

Ace was sheathing his blade, "Take this traitor to a cell, I want four guards at his door at all times."

The guards started dragging the man away, "You have not heard the last of me! The Kingdom will fall! You will regret the day that you betrayed me!"

"And bound and gag him." Ace said, some of the guards chuckled.

Owen and Chad walked over to Ace, followed by the rest of the group. A guard in a decorated uniform stepped in front of Ace and kneeled down, the other guards did the same, "Forgive us my Lord, if we knew, we would have never, what I mean is…"

Ace raised his hand, "Stop," the decorated guard looked up, "it is not your fault Captain, none of this could have been avoided."

"But so many died." the guard Captain said.

"Only appear dead." Ace said, "A little trick I picked up, as for your bloodied guards, well, wine is very convincing." Ace pulled out a wine skin and shook it. The appearing bloody guards took of their helms, they were Sven, Terry, and the remnants of the Order. The guard Captain looked shocked, "As for those in the square, they should be waking up now."

Chad asked Ace, "So you planed this all along?"

"Pretty much." Ace nodded.

"Including the guys in the alley?" Owen asked.

"Yep." Ace said.

Kim asked, "What about Sven?"

"And Violet?" Jas added.

Ace scratched his head, "No, but I'm not complaining."

Chad said, "You knew we weren't going to kill the guards, and you weren't planning on to."

"Down to the last detail." Ace said.

"Excuse me." The Captain said, "Who might you kids be?"

Ace said, "My apologies for not introducing them." Ace pointed to each respectively, "This is Steve."

"Hi." Steve said.

"Jas."

Jas waved, "Hello."

"The children of your predecessors, Kim and Ty." Kim smiled, Ty nodded.

"Spyro and Cynder."

"Hi." Spyro said, Cynder kept quiet, shrinking back.

"And last but no least, Chad and Owen, my sons."

Some of the guards gasped and saying thins like, "The princes live." and "The bloodline continues."

"And so it begins." Chad mumbled under his breath.

Ace counted the group, "Where is Evan?"

"Right here." Evan said walking through the archway slowly, "Sorry, I can't really explain my being late. I don't think anybody would believe me anyways."

"Anyways," Ace continued, "I'm sure your all tired, Terry, show our guest to their rooms. Captain, spread the word of my return"

The Captain straightened up, "Yes sire." he did a deep bow and exited the throne room.

"Follow me." Terry said the group, they followed the her through the halls and she appointed each one of them a room then left.

Owen's room was large and had large bed with four tall bedposts that supported a canopy with curtains on all sides. A corner bookcase that went ten rows up and a fireplace near the bookcase with comfy regal chairs, that was apparently the study. Their was a wardrobe across from the bed that had the image of vines and leaves carved in it, Owen opened the doors, surprisingly his belongings were in it. Owen made his way over to the doors across from the entry door, he opened the double glass doors to walk out onto a balcony. Owen saw over the city with a mountain range in the distance, he couldn't see the sun, except for the rays over the castle, he guessed he got the sunrise balcony. He went back into his room and unbelted his sword and leaned it next to the bed.

"Not going to sleep in your hammock?" Boe asked.

Owen yawned, "No, this is my first chance to sleep in a real bed since I came to this world. Besides, where would I put it?" Owen yawned again, "I'm not sure about you, but I'm tired." Owen took off his shirt and threw it on a pile with his cloak and what remained of his shoes and jumped onto his bed, it was a feather mattress. "Time for some R&R." It didn't take long for Owen to fall asleep, he was exhausted.

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**Writers block to the extreme, I was stuck in one part and couldn't think of anything to write for the life of me. Luckily I had to cut the grass this past weekend, and I always have my best ideas doing monotonous work so it is all good. Next chapter out whenever.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 17: Dreaming**

Both moons shone clear in the sky above a dark spire, the larger moon was in its last quarter stage. Nexus looked at the moon, "Not yet, the moon is not ready." he walked to the center of his study, a clear crystal ball was held by a giant skeletal hand, from the forearm up. "Lets toy with them in the mean time." Nexus put his hand on the crystal orb and it began to pulse a white light, "And so begins the battle." Nexus then exited his study. Inside the crystal ball was the image of Owen lying in a bed, the center of his chest began to pulse a dark light in a circle about the size of an orange.

__

In every direction all that anybody could see was grey, six people sat at a round table in this expanse of nothingness, three in white, three in black, three men, three women. A man in black slammed his fist on the table, "This is an outrage! He should have died then and there!"

"Easy Brother Watcher." The Keeper of Fate said, "You know as well as I do that this was is no more dangerous than if he would have died."

"But you intervened!" The Watcher of Fate shouted, "Only the Meddlers are allowed to influence reality directly!"

The Meddler of Fate spoke up with his feet on the table, "No harm done. A little change is sometimes good." He put his feet down, "Besides, what is the worst that could happen?"

"For starters his Destiny is drastically altered." The Meddler of Destiny said.

"For the better even." The Keeper of Destiny said, "I mean, for the most part."

The Watcher of Destiny said, "Alright, I call this matter of business to a close and open up new matter, Agreed?" Everyone at the table agreed except for the Watcher of Fate, "Majority rules. Now new matter, Something has to be done about Spyro and Cynder." She paused, "They must be separated."

"Excuse me?" The Keeper of Fate asked.

"Nay we know." The Keeper of Destiny said, "We agreed previously that they to be left alone, but now certain events beyond our control spawned a problem." The three Fates leaned closer, "These events have made it that, more often than not, them to conceive during a total solar eclipse. Normally it is just an eclipse, but the smaller of the two moons is behind the bigger one causing the already darkness of the eclipse to become darker. It is almost like the Eternal Night during the day, and twice as bad."

The Meddler of Fate was getting impatient, "Can you get to the point Sister Keeper?"

"I'm getting there." She responded, "This event causes a portal opening to darkness itself."

"How is this possible?" the Watcher of Fate asked.

The Keeper of Destiny said, "We have no idea, Sister Meddler found this information on an old scroll. We have yet to decipher it's origin."

The Watcher of Destiny said, "That being said we can guess that means something bad. It could possibly do anything, but chances are that their child will become corrupt by the darkness. This is an unimaginable power we are dealing with, not even our combined powers could stop it, the only thing to do is to make sure they do not conceive."

"But this can all be prevented." The Keeper of Fate said, everyone turned their attention, "What I mean is that all they have to is not conceive on that day, that should be easy enough."

"It is not that simple brother." The Keeper of Destiny said, "The other outcomes of them conceiving on all other days brings the destruction of their planet by their offspring. But who is to say that their child will not destroy the world if it is born during this eclipse, if it was not for the Deal of the Immortal."

"To only see the outcome of people currently living. I remember, that was so long ago." The Keeper of Fate said.

The Watcher of Fate said, "Yes, as much as we all would like to reminisce on past memories we have to decide about this problem now. All in favor to separate Spyro and Cynder permanently." Slowly hands came up, the last one was the Keeper of Fate, he seemed reluctant, "Unanimous, Meddlers go and do your job."

"Alright Brother." The Meddler of Fate said and then faded away leaving an empty chair.

"You could say please once and awhile." The Meddler of Destiny said then faded away as well.

The Watcher of Fate said standing up and pointing a finger at his Keeper counterpart, "And I don't want you doing their job ever again." then faded, followed by The Watcher of Destiny.

The Keeper of Fate and Destiny were the only ones left, "Do you think this is a good idea?" Fate asked.

"What do you mean?" Destiny responded.

Fate slumped back in his chair, "I realize what the deal lets and not lets us do, but did you see anything bad happening in anyone's future when Spyro and Cynder conceive on the day of the eclipse?"

"I didn't see anything like that except for the usual wars and famines." Destiny said, "Why?"

"My point being," Fate said, "is that maybe nothing bad does happen, it could be something good."

Destiny sighed, "You have been trying to undo the deal since you saw what Malefor would do, but you know what that would do to all of us."

"No mortal should have the powers we have." Fate said dryly, "We may have divine powers, but inside we are still human."

Destiny stood up, "Just make sure none of the others find out about your plan, they would make the rest of your eternal life hell." she then faded away.

"Not for long." the Keeper of Fate said to himself, "None of us will be what we are for long, as long as everything follows my plan. I should have never taken the oath." he faded away leaving an empty table with chairs in an expanse of eternity.

__

Owen was in a huge room with a pyramid in the center, "Why do I always come hear?" He asked himself. He stood a little ways away from the pyramid, there was still the glow of light at the top, he guessed that the light represented his power. Owen decided to look for a way into the pyramid, he searched for what seemed like hours, but he was consciously aware that he was asleep for less than that. He was by the steps leading to the top, "Aw screw it." he said disappointed that he couldn't get inside, he sat down on the steps and fell through them into a hallway. "Ow, what the…" He looked to see that the steps were missing, then looked back to see a long corridor with lit torches. Owen stood up and dusted himself off, "Works for me." he then headed down the long hallway.

He walk through the pyramid, up and down winding steps, and down passageways, it felt like a maze. Owen eventually came to a big open room, it had torches lighting the entire room and casting his shadow long, but still he saw no details or designs on the walls. A small black ball was held in the center of the room held by black chains that connected once to all the walls, corners, floor, and ceiling. Owen took a step closer and the dark ball started to pulse and the chains one by one started to break, every time a chain broke a sharp pain knifed at Owen's mind. The dark ball fell into Owen's shadow, and Owen's shadow started to separate from him. His shadow stood up and started to take on the appearance of Owen with darker features and soulless white eyes. His shadow self looked at it's hands and flexed them, "About damn time." it said, it's voice was exactly like Owen's except that it sounded slightly manic. "How long has it been, sixteen years? But no matter, I'm free now." Owen's shadow self laughed maniacally.

Owen staggered a bit after the pain of the chains breaking, "Who or what are you?"

Owen's shadow looked at him as if seeing him for the first time, it laughed again, "I'm you and your me, I am the darkness in your heart, all of the evil that is in you." It paused, "You can call me Umbra. Yes, Umbra will do nicely."

Owen straightened up, _Dad mentioned something about a darker half,_ "What do you want Umbra?"

"Me? Oh nothing. I just want you dead." Umbra moved with blinding speed, he put his hand on Owen's thought and drove him through the walls out of the pyramid, Umbra stood at the end of the hole he punched Owen through looking at Owen who was flying in the air and fell onto the ground leaving a crater, "That was easier than I expected."

Owen was pushing himself up, he noticed that he was outside but the pyramid was still there, "Since when was this stupid pyramid outside?" Owen got up and stepped forward.

Umbra frowned, "Still alive huh?" Umbra pulled a black sword identical to Owen's out of the air, "I'll fix that." Umbra launched himself at Owen.

Owen barely had time to pull out his sword and pull it up to block, Umbra's attack made Owen skid back on his feel, "Shit he's fast."

"That's not all," Umbra said with a twisted smile, "I'm also strong." Owen was thrown back and landed on his feet.

Owen was terrified, he remember Brad saying something, _One day you will fight one who is just as fast as you and you won't be able to beat him. You better have a trick or two then., _Owen readied himself for the next blow, _I got a trick or two_. Owen and Umbra collided.

__

Spyro was standing on a wide plateau looking down into a gully, it looked barren and battle ridden. "Do you like what you see?" a voice spoke, Spyro turned around to see a man in a black cloak, his hood hid his face.

"Who are you?" Spyro asked.

The man paced, "You can call me Fate." He gestured to the land, "This is the fate of the land if you become the husband of Cynder."

Spyro was unbelieving, "What or who did this?"

"You and your child." Fate said.

"No." Spyro said, "I won't believe it."

Fate chuckled, "Oh, believe it. You are just like Malefor, you know that."

"No." Spyro said trying to block it all out.

"Don't believe me?" Fate waved his hand and a metallic surface materialized in front of Spyro showing his reflection, "You will become him weather you want to or not." Slowly Spyro's image turned into Malefor.

"No." Spyro jumped at the metallic surface and it shattered and he flew off into the distance, "I will not accept it!"

Fate stood on the plateau, "It will happen whether you want it to or not!"

Spyro flew as fast as he could away from Fate, _It can't be, I will not become him._ Spyro came to a ridge and looked over into the clearing, to his shock he saw Malefor standing over Cynder, she was much older. Cynder had blood coming from large tears in her side, Malefor had bloody claws. Something was different about Malefor, Spyro realized in astonishment that it was him. Cynder tried to get up and Spyro's older self struck her down and she didn't get up.

"Do you want that to happen to her?" Fate asked leaning against a large rock, Spyro jumped but said nothing, "If you truly love her, you will let her go so this doesn't happen to her."

Spyro looked at his older self, his older self roared in victory, "No, I don't want this to happen to her. I don't want to…" Spyro heard a scream, Fate stood up alert, Spyro's vision flickered and all was black.

__

Cynder was walking through the halls of a tall tower, they felt familiar. She entered a large octagon shaped room, a woman in a white cloak was standing in the center of the room, her hood shrouded her face, "Does it feel good to be back at the tower you ruled from?" she asked

Cynder realized that the familiar halls she walked through were halls she walked through before, "Who are you and why am I hear."

The woman sighed, "You can call me Destiny, I brought you hear to make a point." Destiny shifted, "I don't want to do this but you have to realize it is for the best. Cynder, you and Spyro are meant to be together." Cynder brightened, "But your child will destroy the world, and not just this one, several others."

Cynder stumbled, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it is my job. Not only will your child destroy worlds, you will destroy all that you love." Destiny said regretfully, Cynder started get teary eyed, "I don't like doing this, but you have to realize that I have no other choice."

"I won't believe you!" Cynder yelled, "I can't believe you!" Cynder ran off down the halls tears flowing.

"Cynder, I'm sorry!" Destiny yelled after Cynder.

Cynder climbed the tower through winding hallways, she had no idea were she was going, but anywhere was better than there. Cynder was on top of her tower, it was where she fought Spyro the first time, to her awe she saw herself standing over a bloodied Spyro. Spyro was much older and had a gash above his eye and several along his body, Cynder's older self impaled her scythe like tail into Spyro's chest, Cynder screamed and clasped onto the ground crying.

"Cynder, I'm so sorry." Destiny said leaning on the wall behind Cynder, Cynder didn't move or stop crying, "Now you have to understand that I had to do this." Destiny paused, "I had no other choice, I wish there was another way." Cynder tried to block it out, "This can all be prevented as long as you do not become the wife of Spyro."

"If it will keep Spyro alive I will do it." Cynder choked through tears, Cynder heard a scream, Destiny stood alert, Cynder's vision flickered then all was dark.

__

Jas was walking through a large, dark, damp and cold cave. "Where the hell am I?" she asked herself. She walked for what seemed like hours she would occasionally find detailed statues of dragons and humans, she even found one that looked like a werewolf. She eventually came to a large room that had a huge mound of skulls piled high. A large serpent slithered over the mound, it was as wide as a house and was proportionally long. Jas stumbled back and ran the way she came from.

Jas could have sworn it hissed "stop", but Jas kept on running and found herself at a dead end. The large snake coiled itself around Jas, she had no way to escape, it opened it's large mouth. Jas screamed and tried to reach out for something familiar and friendly, her vision flickered and everything went dark.

__

Owen was thrown back, _Will nothing stop him?_, he thought ho himself. Owen steadied himself and faces Umbra, Owen heard a scream and there was a bright flash. Owen recovered from the flash and realized that the surrounding area had changed, to his right was a plateau that looked battle wrought, he saw Spyro and a black figure standing there, to his left was a shear drop with crystal like towers, beyond the drop Owen saw Cynder and a white figure, behind Umbra Owen could see what looked like the inside of a cave except the ceiling only seemed to be held up by one wall, Owen saw a huge snake coiled around Jas.

Owen ran towards Jas but was cut off by Umbra, "Your fight is with me hero." Umbra swung his sword at Owen but was blocked by Fate. Fate had caught Umbra's sword with a black gauntlet, he wore one on both hands.

Owen was thrown back by Fate, Owen remember seeing him before, "Thank you Fate." Owen looked over to Spyro and saw an Identical Fate standing there.

"Good to see you again Owen." Fate said and threw Umbra away, "Allow me to reintroduce myself, I am the Keeper of Fate." Fate helped Owen up.

Owen looked at the Fate by Spyro and the one in front of him, "I don't understand."

"If you did then there wouldn't be the need of explaining." the Keeper of Fate faced Umbra, "But that is for another time." Umbra charged and Fate caught the blade with the gauntlet causing blue sparks to fly. "Brother! Sister! Get them out of here now!" The Meddler of Fate and Destiny hesitated then snapped their fingers and Spyro and Cynder disappeared along with them. The Keeper of Fate seemed to be struggling, "Owen, you must wake Jas up."

Owen asked, "How am I suppose to do that?"

Fate threw Umbra far away and placed his left and open in front of Owen's face, "From your world, now wake up!" Owen saw a bright light and then all was black.

__

Owen jerked awake, he grabbed his head, "Was that all a dream?" Owen could see the first rays of morning light shining in his room. "I was suppose to do something…Jas!" Owen bolted to the door and ran out into the hallway, he nearly hit the maid outside him room. _I got to hurry_, Owen skidded around a corner, _I got to hurry._

__

Umbra walked to Fate, "I see you still have those." he gestured to the gauntlets.

Keeper grinned, "The only thing that can withstand the touch of you tainted beings." Fate backed away a step.

Umbra laughed manically, "My master said you were always to smart for your own good." Umbra took a step, "Lets see you fight." Umbra charged at Fate.

Fate deflected the dark blade with the gauntlets, _I have to hold him off until Owen wakes Jas and gets her out of here before I finish this._ Keeper back flipped dodging the blade, "You know I well can beat you Specters." Fate dodged again, "How many of you are there? Four? Five thousand?"

Umbra smiled, "You flatter my master, but now that Nexus is the supreme power of evil in the land, his hold is weakened. Not to mention that those with the gift of Convexity is less than is use to be." Umbra charged, "Don't get the wrong idea, my master is still as strong as ever. And so am I!" Umbra swung his sword and Fate caught it with both hands.

Fate looked over by Jas, _Why is she still here? Owen, what is taking you? _Fate threw Umbra to the ground.

__

Owen made it to Jas's room and opened the door, Jas seemed to be sleeping soundly, wearing only her nightgown. Owen knew that she was in trouble, Owen shook Jas, "Wake up Jas! You have to wake up! Jas!"

__

Jas was held tight in the snakes grasp, it hissed and Jas tried to free herself. The snake brought its head down to eye level, Jas was petrified with fear, she suddenly felt like she was being shaken.

Jas awoke in her room in the castle with Owen over her. Jas was still shaken by the snake, she threw her arms around Owen, "It was horrible!" She started to cry on Owen's shoulder.

Owen put his arms around her, "Its alright, nothing can hurt you now."

"I was so helpless." Jas cried, she never liked snakes, "I thought it was going to kill me."

Owen just held her, he knew all to well that dreams can be all to real.

__

Fate dodged trying not to get hit by the deathly blade, he glanced to where Jas was and saw that she and the snake disappeared, _Time to finish this_, he thought. He retreated back and waited for Umbra to attack. Umbra charged, _closer_, Umbra brought his blade back, _closer_, Umbra swung his sword,_ not yet, _the blade was dangerously close to Fate,_ now!_, Fate brought up his hands and invoking the language of power and magic yelled, "Attonitus!" Umbra froze in his tracks, blade mere hair lengths away from Fate's face. The Keeper of Fate breathed a sigh of relief.

"What trickery is this?" Umbra asked struggling to move with no avail.

"You forget that I can use magic on you specters." Fate pulled out a white crystal, "Now I'm going to weaken your hold on this body." Fate held the crystal above his head and a burning light came from it, Umbra screamed in pain. When the light dimmed Umbra was gone, all that was left was dark wisps. Fate looked around satisfied and faded away. The wisped moved to make out Umbra's face, there was maniacal laughter then the wisped parted.

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**Next chapter out whenever.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 18: Powers Surfacing**

Ace walked into the castle's private garden and walked up the pathway to the other side, the sun was just rising, casting shadows. There was only one kind of flower planted, midnight flowers, they only bloom for one night then die. They were Elizabeth's favorite flower, Ace walked to a gravestone, it read: _Hear lies Elizabeth, beloved wife and queen of King Benjamin. May her spirit live in us always._ Ace fell down onto his knees and touched the gravestone, "You weren't suppose to die that day." Ace closed his eyes, he remember that day vividly. He and Elizabeth were fighting alongside each other swords in hand, they had just cleared a hole in the enemy forces and the rest of the army was following behind. Ace slashed and his enemy was no more, They had almost defeated the forces that invaded. The next thing Ace remember was a sharp blow to the head then darkness. When he regained consciousness he felt weak and tired, Elizabeth was in his arms dieing, Katar approached Ace and explained what had happened, that he killed his love. Ace then sent Owen and Chad away and attended Elizabeth's funeral as an Order Ranger, everyone thought that he had died as well. After that he went into hiding and abandoned the Kingdom. Ace came back to himself and realized that he was crying, not sobbing, just crying. Ace heard footsteps behind him but refused to turn around.

"She is deeply missed." was heard from behind Ace, he recognized the voice, it was Brad, "There is not a day where the Order doesn't grieve her death."

Ace wiped away his tears, "Did I ever tell you that I was responsible for her death?"

Brad walked beside Ace, "No, Katar told me, he left out some details, but enough for me to understand what happened."

Ace shook his head, "I didn't want that to happen to anyone else, that is why I sent my sons away. But now that they are back that fear has resurfaced."

"You cannot control that which is out of your hands." Brad said placing his hand on Ace's shoulder, "We are only mortal, and we make mistakes, we are not perfect."

Ace gave a weak chuckle, "Now I remember why I made you my right hand man in the Order."

Brad offered Ace his hand, "It is time we go." Ace took Brad's hand who helped him up, "You have to attend the Kingdom, and I have to attend training." Brad and Ace started to walk out of the garden, "Speaking of which, your son, Owen, he is fast."

"That he is." Ace said.

"To fast even, I fought him, his form has much to be desired." Brad struggled not to make it an insult, "I'm afraid of what will happen when he meets someone as fast as him, I don't know anyone that can match his speed to teach him. At least nobody alive." Brad grimaced.

Ace put one hand on Brad's shoulder, "Then lets make him faster."

__

Steve was walking aimlessly through the halls of the castle, _Might as well burn time, Ace mentioned something about me getting training in magic._ Steve couldn't believe himself, of all people why would he be able to use magic, let alone learn how to. Steve came to a door with strange runes on it, curiosity go the best of him, he slowly approached the door. He reached for the doorknob and felt a tingling sensation in his hand, Steve hesitated but grabbed the doorknob and turned it and the tingling went away. The door opened smoothly and soundlessly, inside was a dimly lit room that was suddenly brightened by may candles. Steve walked inside and the door shut behind him.

The room's walls was lined with shelves full of books, some with strange runes on the bindings, broken by a window and a fireplace at the far end of the room. In the center of the room was a large desk cluttered with papers, books, and old scrolls, there seemed to be what looked like a perch next to the desk. In the center of the desk was a closed blue bound book, Steve cautiously entered the room. Steve went around the desk and opened up the book to a random page, it was written in Latin. From what Steve could read it seemed to be instructions to something, he unconsciously started reciting the passage, he felt the tingling sensation again, except throughout his body.

"Stop you fool!" was heard behind Steve, the next thing he knew a large bird swooped down and attacked him.

Steve swatted at the bird, "What the hell?" the bird landed on the perch next to the desk. Steve dusted himself off, "Who is there?" he asked.

"Me you twit." a voice said. Steve looked around the room, "I'm right in front of you."

Steve looked at the bird, it was a great horned owl, "You?" Steve asked.

"Obviously since nobody else besides you and I are in the room." the owl said, its voice sounded full of wisdom.

Steve was dumbfounded, "Forgive me, its just that I'm not use to seeing talking owls."

"Apparently, by the way you are staring at me." the owl said, Steve looked away, the owl chuckled, "My name is Navon, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"My name is Steven Adams." Steve said.

Navon looked at him, "Really? You look more like a Lan to me." Navon flapped his wings, "Which brings me to ask, why are you hear, more importantly why were you summoning up a familiar without a proper guide."

"A what? A familiar?" Steve asked, "I don't know what that is. I was just waiting for Ace, excuse me, King Benjamin to show me magic."

Navon laughed, "Young Ben teach you magic?" Navon laughed again, "Ben cannot use magic." Navon regained his composure, "Ahem, but you can." Steve leaned in, "I'm sorry for my outburst, but the royal family hasn't been able to use any magic except light for over a thousand years."

"So your saying I can use magic?" Steve asked, Navon nodded, "How can you be sure?"

"You got past the door." Navon pointed to the door with one wing. "It had an enchantment on it to keep it closed, it was weak, but enough to keep out most of the students."

Steve shook his head, "But all I did was turn the door knob, I didn't do anything, say anything." Steve paused, "Hell, I'm not even from this realm." Steve moved over to the window and looked out of it.

"Pardon? Did you say, not from this realm?" Navon asked.

"Yea." Steve said looking out of the window.

"Well that would explain your exotic garb." Navon said, Steve seemed homesick, Navon flew over to the window, "If you don't mind me saying, I do know how you feel."

Steve looked at Navon, "You do?"

"Yes." Navon said and looked out the window, "You see I am a familiar, bound to my master by magic and enchantments."

"Who is your master then?" Steve asked, the door opened behind Steve.

"Navon, who is this? And how did he get in?" was heard behind Steve.

Navon turned his head around and Steve spun around, "Hector." Navon said, "Back so soon?" in the doorway was an old skinny man, he had a long white beard and hair and wore an elaborate blue robe with a sash around his waist that hung from it many pouches. In his right hand he held a staff with what seemed to have a small head carved out of a blue stone on the top with a lighter blue horns, the head had its eyes and mouth closed, and the staff got tinner about a foot from the head, there was a blue crystal on the opposite end of the staff.

Hector snorted, "Not soon enough." Hector walked in, his voice was old and wise, but strong, "Now who is this?"

"This is Steven Adams." Navon said, "He has the spark."

Hector scratched his chin, "Steven huh, you look more like a Lan to me." Hector walked in and placed his staff on his desk, "Magic or no you have no right to intrude in my study, I will have to ask you to leave."

Steve hastily walked to the door, "Yes sir, I didn't mean to intrude."

Navon landed on the perch next to Hector, "You can't let him leave."

"Why not?" Hector asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He nearly summoned a familiar unaided." Navon said.

Hector's eyes widened, "Steven is it?" Steve was walking right out of the door, "Maybe I was being to hasty, come in and have a seat." Steve turned around, Hector was gesturing to the seat behind the desk, "It won't bite if that is what you are wondering." Steve walked over and positioned himself in the chair, "Navon tells me you nearly summoned a familiar unaided, is that true?" Hector was behind Steve.

"I don't know. I don't even know what a familiar is, besides that Navon is one." Steve said a little tense.

Hector looked surprised, "If you were summoning one you had no idea what you were doing." Hector paced around the desk, "A familiar is a magical being that helps the magic user it is bound to. They can aid in combat, strength, casting, or many other things. They are a mages companion and help each other become stronger." Hector looked at Steve, "Does that answer your question?"

"I guess." Steve said, "But I was just reading from this book." Steve gestured to the blue book in front of him.

"He says he is not from this realm." Navon said.

Hector scratched his chin and grabbed the book, he flipped through the pages, "Can you read this?" the pages were written in Latin.

"Yea." Steve said.

"Show me." Hector handed Steve the book, "Translate for me until I tell you to stop."

Steve grabbed the book and started reading, "To make a mana restoration potion add; one dog tong root, one star fire flower, and three grounded up red sea blooms and stir clockwise until it reaches a blue color." Steve paused, "Warning, make sure that the red sea blooms are in a fine powder otherwise it won't mix properly and may cause severe side effects such as fatigue, dizziness, and vomiting."

"That is enough." Hector said, "Remarkable, yes truly remarkable. Not only are you fluent in Vetus Lingua, but you also very well have the potential to use magic. Tell me, were did you learn Vetus Lingua in your realm."

Steve scratched his head, "I just picked it up over the years, except we call it Latin in my um…realm."

Hector paced in front of the desk, "Latin? Interesting. Very interesting." he stopped, "There is no denying the potential that you have. If trained properly you could become a powerful mage. Maybe even become an Arch Mage, but lets not get ahead of ourselves."

"Steven here said that young Ben was going to tech him magic." Navon said, Hector held back a laugh, "I think he meant that he was going to get him the right training. He probably intended to enroll Steven in with the other students." Navon turned to Steve, "What say you, do you want to be trained in the arcane arts?"

"Sure." Steve said, "Why not, if I got the talent I'll use it."

Hector walked over to the bookshelves, "Good, your first class begins in one hour." Hector was pulling books and scrolls out of the shelves, "You need an 'Arcane History Book', a 'Manual of Spell craft', 'Enchanted Enchanting' won't hurt." Hector looked at Steve, "You'll probably need a map of the campus. All you need now is a Spell Book." Hector paused at a bookshelf, he pulled out a blue book much like the one he had on his desk, it had runes on it in a darker blue and a silver buckle holding it closed, "I wonder." he said to himself then walked over to Steve, "Open it."

"What?" Steve said.

"Open it." Hector said placing the book in front of Steve and taking the other blue book off the desk.

Steve placed his hand on the book, his hand started to tingle. Steve tried to undo the buckle but it seemed stuck, Steve got frustrated and unknowingly said, "Patefacio.", the silver buckle radiated a blue light then vanished Steve was surprised by what he did but opened up the book anyways, the book was written once again in Latin, the pages looked untouched for centuries.

"By the Spell Crafters of old, do you realize what you have done?" Hector asked.

Steve pulled his hands away from the book thinking he did something wrong, "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"More like the opposite." Hector said, "You did what not even the Arcane Council could achieve."

"Is that good or bad?" Steve asked.

Navon said, "Absolutely not, you see this book has been closed for almost all of recorded history. This spell book once belonged to a powerful mage who sealed the book with a powerful seal, not even the council, some of the most powerful mages in the world, could open it. Who knows what ancient spells and secrets it hold within its pages."

Hector pulled out a book bag from inside his desk, "You must not tell anyone about this. I know a few that would want to get their hands on this book." Hector handed Steve the book bag, "I will have your initiate robes delivered to your quarters, next week you must choose what kind of mage you want to be." Steve tried to close the spell book, but it wouldn't close completely, "Something wrong?"

"It won't close." Steve said then it dawned on him, if he used magic to open it, he can use it to close it. Steve rummaged through his mind searching for the right word then said, "Propinquus.", his hand tingled and there was a blue light in the shape of the buckle and then the light disappeared leaving a silver buckle that held the book closed.

"Apparently the book needs to be opened and closed with magic." Hector said, Steve slumped in the chair, he felt a little fatigued, "Just make sure not to overdo yourself, you are still new at this and it can take a lot out of you. Now hurry and prepare for class, your robes will be in your quarters soon along with a campus map." Steve nodded and put the books Hector gathered for him into the bag and exited the room.

Hector seated himself in the chair behind the desk, "You do realize that he will advanced quickly." Navon said.

"Yes, I know." Hector said, "The question is how quickly."

__

Chad was wandering through the halls, "Wonder what was that feeling was last night?" Last night Chad sensed the presence of a powerful evil in the castle. Chad shivered, "It felt like it was coming from Owen's room, but that's impossible." Chad looked up and saw Even, who was scratching uncontrollably, "Troubles?" Chad asked.

Even scratched his neck, "Yea, I got this really bad rash." the skin that was visible had swollen blotches of red on it, "I was just going to the nurse or whatever they call it here."

"That looks bad." Chad said.

"That is not the worst part." Even said scratching his arm, "It is in more places than one would want."

Chad cringed, "You have my pity if that is any consolation."

Even continued on his way, "Thanks, I just hope it passes soon."

Chad looked down after Even, "Poor guy." Chad said and continued on then spotted Owen, "Owen!" Chad called after him, "Got a minute?"

"Sure." Owen said, "What's on your mind?"

Chad caught up to Owen, "Well, its about last night." Chad paused, "Look, there is no other way to say this without making you look like a bad guy, and I know your not, but…"

"But?…" Owen asked.

Chad sighed, "Last night I felt an evil presence, and it seemed to be coming from your room."

Owen stopped in his tracks and Chad stared at him, "I…I cannot deny that."

"Can you at least explain it?" Chad asked.

"If you will not tell anyone." Owen said.

Chad said, "As long as it won't endanger anyone."

Owen sighed, "I…I met my darker half last night and fought him."

"What?" Chad asked.

"You asked." Owen said, "If it wasn't for Fate I probably wouldn't be here."

Chad stepped back, "He meets with you to?"

"Who? Fate?" Owen asked, Chad nodded, "He helps me when I need it. I hardly understand what he tells me anyway."

"Same here." Chad said, "So he took care of your…darker half right?"

Owen nodded, "Umbra would be in control if Fate didn't do something."

"Umbra?" Chad asked.

"It is what my darker half calls himself." Owen said, "I don't want to talk about this anymore, besides, I'm late for combat training." Owen continued down the hall and Chad followed close behind.

__

Jas entered the training yard, she saw a bunch of men in training circles and by stationary practice dummies. She scanned across the yard and spotted Owen, she walked closer and found Chad, Spyro, and Cynder next to him, Spyro and Cynder seemed to be avoiding each others gaze. Jas was a few feet away from them when a shirtless burly guy about Owen's age stopped her, he had a black circle under his right collarbone.

"Hey cutie, names Paul. What's a girl like you doing here?" Paul asked.

Jas smiled, "I'm trying to…"

Paul cut her off, "You came to see me train right, of course you have." Paul flexed his muscled, "Why else would you be here?"

Jas saw Owen get up and head over to her, "Hey buddy." Owen said and Paul turned around.

"What do you want shrimp?" Paul asked.

"I think you should let her tell you why she is here and not make assumptions." Owen said.

Paul crossed his arms, "What are you her bodyguard or something."

Jas flung herself on Owen's arm, "He is actually my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Owen and Paul said nearly at the same time.

"What do you see in a runt like him?" Paul asked.

Owen stepped up, "Hey I am no runt."

Jas pulled him back, "I don't think this is the place to pick a fight."

"I've beaten bigger guys then him." Owen said.

Paul pushed Owen back, "Is that a challenge little man?"

"If your up to it." Owen barked back.

"Right here right now." Paul said.

Owen stared back, "Not soon enough." Paul walked over to an empty training ring.

Jas slugged him in the arm, "You really got to learn how to pick your fights."

Owen was walking over to Paul, Jas still on his arm, "Self absorbed guys like that just tick me off." Owen entered the ring and threw off his shirt, a crowd had gathered around the ring along with Chad, Spyro, and Cynder.

Paul started to laugh, "Your not even in the Order." Paul laughed harder, "This should be a cakewalk." Paul motioned to a guy in the crowd.

The man that Paul motioned to said, "This is a no hold bard match, anything is allowed except weapons, the match is over when I deem fit." The refry put both hands in the air, "Begin!"

"I'm going to make you cry." Paul said. Owen and Paul circled each other around the ring, Paul had a smirk on his face, he obviously had no idea what Owen was capable of. Paul shot a green sphere at Owen but quickly evaded it.

_He has the power of earth_, Owen thought to himself, he remember Spyro doing something similar when they trained together. Paul continued to shoot earth shots at Owen, but they seemed to be moving vary slow to him. Owen charged at Paul weaving in-between earth shots, as he got closer they started to come more at a time, Owen ducked under them and lunged at Paul. Paul staggered back and slammed his fists on the ground causing a rock wave, Owen back flipped into the air and turned into a dragon and hovered in the air, many in the crowd gasped.

"You are not suppose to be able to do that! You're a nobody!" Paul yelled at Owen.

Owen spiraled down at Paul, "Apparently I can!" and head butted Paul.

Paul fell back but recovered, he then turned into an emerald green dragon with a spiked mace like tail and spiraled horns, he appeared much larger than Owen. Paul leaped into the air and grappled at Owen who easily dodged and kicked back with his hind legs. Paul wiped around and hit Owen with his mace like tail, Owen flew back but quickly flew at Paul. Paul charged at Owen and turned back into a human grabbing Owen by the horns and wiped Owen into the ground. Owen impacted the ground hard, Paul got in a fetal position and was suddenly surrounded by stone and impacted Owen leaving a crater, dust filled the air, Paul leaped out of the crater with a smug look on his face. Murmurs of discontent and worry spread across the crowd.

Chad started laughing, "What's so funny punk?" Paul asked.

"You got another thing coming if you think that you beat him." Chad said.

Paul laughed overpowered Chad's, "Nobody, and I mean nobody can walk away from that."

Owen climbed out of the crater in his human self, "That sounds about right," Owen said, Paul's face grew pail and he slowly turned around, "after all I am a nobody." Owen said with a smirk on his face.

Paul charged at Owen who was caught off guard and grabbed him and started to squeeze the life out of Owen, _I may be able to heal all wounds, but I can't take this kind of pain._ Paul was trying to break Owen's spine, Owen was filled with agonizing pain, _I have to break free_. Owen's eyes shined a burnish gold, his teeth grew sharp, his muscles bulged, fear grew in Paul's eye's while anger grew in Owen's. Owen broke free from Paul and push him back, Paul was suddenly covered by a stone armor and rooted his feet to the ground. Owen charged at Paul and punched in a blinding fury but had no effect, Paul backhanded Owen who slid back a ways. Owen charged at Paul again fist ablaze with a white fire, growing brighter, Owen grabbed Paul by the head and slammed him down to the ground, his rock armor shattered like glass. Paul tried to get up but Owen put his foot on Paul's chest.

"Owen." Owen said, his features were back to normal, you could have never imagined that he was ever enraged a few seconds ago.

"What?" Paul asked confused, everything happened so fast his mind needed to catch up

"My name is Owen." Owen said, "I know your name and I didn't get a chance to tell you mine." Owen offered Paul a hand up, "You almost had me there."

Paul swatted Owen's hand away, "I don't need your help." Paul got up and pushed his way through the crowd out of sight.

Owen made his way to his friends, "How in the name of the Ancestors did you do that?" Spyro asked.

Owen looked at his friend's faces, it looked like they missed half of the battle, "I guess I was to fast for him."

"You say that like it was nothing." Cynder said, "You had some close calls, like when he was firing earth shots at you, he was doing it faster than Spyro, but not one hit you."

"Which is why we will make him faster." Ace said from behind Owen.

Jas said, "I think he needs to slow down."

Ace shook his head, "Nonsense, we will begin immediately."

"I guess I will be joining you." Chad said.

"If you want to come and watch then fine but I cannot tech you what I will teach Owen." Ace said.

"What do you mean?" Chad asked.

Ace scratched his chin, "Darkness in not the same as light, me trying to teach you would be like trying to get a stone to float."

Spyro said, "What Ace is saying is that they are different, like when I use different elements, they each have a different feel and are used differently."

"I see what you mean." Chad said disappointed.

Ace thought for a moment then said, "If you want you can look in the library, there is bound to be a book the you can learn techniques from."

Chad brightened up, "I'll go do that now." Chad then exited the training yard.

"Come on Owen, we need to find a big open space." Ace said, he then turned into a dragon and flew off shortly followed by Owen.

"What are we suppose to do?" Jas asked.

"You are left with me." Brad said cracking his knuckles, "Now I want all of you to do twenty laps now! Anyone who fails to do so will do kitchen duty for the next month!" All of those in the training yard dropped what they were doing immediately and ran to the track. Jas, Spyro and Cynder just stood there blankly, "Didn't you hear me? I said move!"

They then immediately followed those on the track, "I think Owen and Chad got it off easy." Jas said.

"You think?" asked Cynder sarcastically.

**----------**

**Another chapter down, the next one out whenever. For those that care or want to know what too so damn long my explanation is below, for those of you who could care less you can just skip it.**

**Apology: First of all I got about to where Owen picked a fight with Paul and then went on vacation with my folks, nothing special. Apparently I left the computer plugged in while we were away, there was an electrical storm were I live and it struck near the house, the computer go fried so I sent it in to get it fixed. I won't say what kind of computer I use, but I can say most of you would die from disbelief of how old it was, anyway the people I sent it to recovered as much data as they could and put it on a flash drive (which was expensive). I am still actually saving up to buy a new computer and finished this chapter by my buddy's house. So for those of you who are mad that this chapter was late, I AM SORRY, and will now unplug all of my valuable electronics during or before an electrical storm.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**I forgot to add a title so if anyone who read before and noticed it, sorry. I feel like an idiot.**

**----------**

**Chapter 19: A Day of Training**

"My legs are killing me." Jas said exhausted.

Spyro dropped to the ground, "Your telling me." Ty an Kim entered from the far end of the training yard running, "Well look who showed up." Spyro said when they got closer.

"Sorry," Ty panted, "we had a run in with the guards." he was wearing his father's dagger.

Kim snorted, "You think we were criminals the way they treated us."

"No offense," Cynder said, "but you don't exactly blend in a crowd."

"Well, well," was heard from behind them, it was Brad, "aren't you two more than a little late."

Kim started to explain, "It wasn't our fault, we were…"

"I don't want to hear excuses." Brad cut her off, he pointed to Ty, "You, in the ring, now."

Ty entered the ring, there was a white haired, ice blue eyed male a few years older than Ty with a blue mask covering the lower part of his face. He had dark blue pants and shirt on with the sleeves torn off at the shoulders. "This one had better be a challenge Brad." his voice was as cold as ice and didn't show any emotion. "The last one you threw at me was less than exceptional."

"I brought you someone to fight and now you complain. That is so typical of you Axel." Brad said and walked over to Kim and directed her to another ring.

"They don't understand." Axel muttered, Ty wouldn't have herd if not for his hearing, "None of them will ever understand my pain." Axel spoke up, "You better not waste my time wolf."

Ty took a defensive stance, "My name is Ty, and I won't." Axel didn't waste any time, he charged at Ty and kicked him in the side, it suddenly felt numb. Ty lunged at Axel, but it was too late, Axel punched Ty in the chest and Ty tumbled out of the ring. Ty tried to get up but Axel pulled him up first.

"I told you not to waste my time." Axel turned and walked away.

Ty's side still was numb but he grabbed Axel's shoulder, "Hold on." Axel turned to face Ty, "We need to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about." Axel's voice had not changed once, he turned and walked away.

"Help me understand." Ty said, Axel stopped in his tracks.

"Understand what?" Axel said without turning.

Ty stepped forward, "What they don't." he gestured to Brad

Axel shook his head, "My pain is for me to bear alone, and I shall carry that pain to my grave."

"Try me." Ty said.

Axel turned around and looked over his shoulder, "You are persistent, I'll give you that. But be warned, what I tell you comes at a price." Ty nodded, "Then follow me. There are to many that can hear us." Axel walked out of the training grounds with Ty behind him.

__

Ace landed at the edge of a forest with trees hundreds of feet tall and dozens wide, the castle many miles behind him and the ancient trees many miles at the other end of the clearing seemed no bigger than a thumbs width. He turned back into an elf and Owen followed his example. Ace examined his surroundings and gave a satisfied nod, "This will work for what I have in mind."

"And exactly what would that be?" Owen asked.

Ace turned to Owen a little surprised that he herd him. "I am going to tech you a technique that I developed years ago." Ace paced a little bit and chuckled, "To be honest it was a complete accident, but I won't bore you with stories." He stepped back, "You will be the only other being, besides me, to use the Light Step." Owen was listening intently, "I will demonstrate in a moment but first you have to know what I does. The Light Step will instantaneously move you from one place to another with nobody the wiser."

Owen scratched his head, "So in other words it is teleportation?"

"If you want to call it that." Ace apparently had no idea what teleportation meant, "Allow me to demonstrate." Ace stepped back a few paces and Owen could feel a power welling up inside his father, before Owen knew what happened there was a flash where Ace once was and his father was behind him. "That my son is the Light Step." Owen whirled around, "Before you actually try this technique you have to prepare your body to become accustom to it."

"Let me guess," Owen said, "I have to do the Zen thing where I meditate under a waterfall for hours on end to build up endurance and spirit of mind. Am I right?"

"No." Ace said, "I want to see how fast you are."

Owen crossed his arms, "How exactly?"

Ace pointed to his feet, "I want you to run from here to there." he then pointed to the other end of the clearing.

"You have got to be kidding." Owen said shocked and angry at the same time.

"Better get going." Ace turned into a dragon, "I will follow from the air." Ace flew off to the tree line. Owen muttered under his breath and followed his father to the far away forest.

__

Steve was running down the castle halls trying to make sense of the map Hector gave him, "If the castle wasn't built like a maze maybe I could fine the right door to the University." Steve stopped to catch his breath, "These robes don't help for running either." Steve was wearing the robes that Hector sent for him, they were plain white which was a sharp contrast to the dark brown bag that hung over his shoulder that held all of the books Hector provided and the ancient spell book. Steve looked at the map again, it was a dirty brown map that had lines that made up the castle ground and halls. "If I am by the library the University should be in the room down the hall, but that room seems too small to hold that many people." Steve gave a long sigh, "I might as well try it, I don't want to know what happens when you are late to a magic school." Steve rolled up the map and ran down the corridor and thought he saw Chad out of the corner of his eye, _I have no time for distractions_, he thought as he ran on. As he came to the end of the hall he saw a heavy iron door with a big metal door knob. Runes decorated the outside of the door much like the ones on Hector's door. Steve recognized the words as Latin, _Only those gifted with the Arcane give may enter_, Steve read in his head.

Steve opened the door with a grunt and entered the room. The room was circular and was completely white. A stone door with the face of an old man carved into it with no door knob on it stood erect in the center of the room and was the only thing in the room for that matter. Runes decorated the floor around the stone door. "About time you showed." echoed in the room. Steve looked around and saw an owl swoop down.

"Navon!" Steve said surprised, "What are you doing here?"

Navon landed on the top of the stone door, "Hector wanted to show you the University but you were taking to long so he had to be on his way." Steve reddened a little, "Don't be hard on yourself, on the first day of any student they are shown the campus. No classes."

"Then why did Hector ask me to hurry otherwise I would be late?" Steve asked a little confused.

Navon ruffled his feathers, "He meant that he would be late, this is the first day of a new year and Hector has to show the campus to the new students. It his responsibility as Master of the University. So to avoid running late he left me behind to show you the University myself."

"So Hector is the principal." Steve said to himself.

"What's that? Speak up boy." Navon said.

"Uh, it was nothing." quickly changing the subject, "So where is the University?"

Navon chuckled, "Your looking at the front door." Steve looked around confused, "This is the Door of Riddles, it is a class in itself. In order to enter the University you have to have an open mind and wits besides." Steve stepped forward and examined the door.

As soon as Steve stepped on the runes around the door the face on the door yawned. Its eyes opened and spoke in a booming voice, "I am the Door of Riddles, to pass you must answer my question."

Navon flew down onto Steve's left shoulder, "Be ready Steven."

"It has been long since I have seen a new face." The door boomed, "I will give you an easy one. What can you put in a wood box that will make it lighter? This is my question an answer I seek."

"This is my favorite riddle." Navon said excitedly, "Now think Steve, what can you put in a wood box that will make it lighter?"

Steve put his hand to his chin thinking hard, "I order to make something lighter you have to take something away. But the question asks what you can give to a box to make it lighter." Steve scratched his right hand, "To give is to take, to take is to give." Steve thought hard, _You need to take something to it to make it lighter, what was the box made out of, wood?_ Steve snapped his fingers when he got the answer, "I got it!"

The door asked, "Give me what you've got and I'll give you entrance."

"Holes." Steve said excitedly, "The box is made of wood and anything you put in it would make it heavier, so you need to take away what it has. In other words giving it holes makes it lighter."

"An answer is seek and an answer I received, now if give entrance unto thee." the door said.

"Good job Steven." Navon hooted. The stone door swung open on invisible hinges an Steve couldn't what he saw on the other side. "Welcome Steven to the University."

__

Axel lead Ty through the castle halls to a plain door. Axel opened the door and gestured for Ty to enter. "This is your last chance to turn back, it is sill not to late."

"I followed you this far." Ty responded and walked into the room. It took little time for Ty's eyes to adjust to the low light, the room was plain enough, one bed and a desk with a chair behind it. Axel gestured for Ty to take the chair.

Ty seated himself as Axel closed the door an lit a lamp, "I warn you that you will be bound to my cause until either you or I die."

"What if I refuse?" Ty asked.

Axel sighed, "I had a curse put on me and that curse would be passed on to you. I cannot tell you more without giving the curse to you."

Ty scratched his head, "Is your cause a noble one?"

"All I can tell you is that it is not evil if that is what you mean." Axel was staring blankly at the floor.

"Like I said, I followed you this far." Ty said.

Axel looked up, "And you will follow me to our death." Axel paused, "It was my tenth birthday when my family was slaughtered. I use to live to the far north, farther than Dante's Freezer. You see I am the lost prince of Ice Bane." Axel chuckled, "They think that they killed all of my family."

"I don't understand. What are you saying?" Ty asked.

Axel ignored him. "By a cruel twist of fate I survived and escaped under the cover of night. I wandered for several days but someone, or something, wouldn't let me have sweet death. I was found King Benjamin and he brought me here. You see our kingdoms had an alliance and he apparently was going to visit his friend and ally, my father. He brought me here and promised that he would help me, I then swore that night that I would not rest until that murderer paid for what he had done. That was when I was cursed by my own words"

"Who, make who pay?" Ty asked.

Axel continued. "It has been seven years since that fateful day, and I still haven't fulfilled my promise and the curse still lives. As does that wicked creature."

Ty got up and shook Axel, "Who are you talking about?"

Axel shook his head as if he came out of a trance, "Gale." Ty stepped back a pace, "Many have tried to kill him bound by my curse, it lead them to their graves."

"What about you?" Ty asked, "You are still among the living."

"The others who agreed to help me took actions they thought was wise." Axel paused, "They were wrong. I am training to become stronger, I suggest you do the same." Axel moved to the door then stopped, "Don't tell anyone about the curse or anything related to it, unless you want it passed onto them." Axel then opened the door and exited leaving Ty alone.

__

Brad was yelling a some young men fighting in a ring, Jas had just finished her fight. Although she thought that her opponent was holding back, it was hardly even worth the effort, even without using her powers. A young boy, no more that the age of eight ran up to Brad and handed him a rolled up piece of paper. Brad slipped two silver coins into the boys hand and read the letter, he then walked over to Jas, "I received word that Violet wishes to see you." he paused and looked at the piece of paper again, "It says here that she will be waiting in the library. You know where that is right?"

"Yea I think so." Jas put on her staff sheath and exited the training yard and headed through the long halls to the library. Jas pushed open the large wooden doors and entered the library. She was greeted by the sight of rows of books and shelves, some looked like they haven't been touched in centuries. Large chandeliers hung in numerous places above the bookshelves providing a surprising amount of light.

_I sense that you have just entered the library_, Jas recoiled from Violet's thoughts in her head, _I bet you are wondering why I have asked you to come here. Don't answer I know what you would say. I called you here to test you, try and find me using your telepathy._ As soon as Jas had felt Violets presence she was gone.

Jas opened up her mind reaching out to any mind that was in her radius of detection, that wasn't very far to begin with and she was straining to make it bigger. The library was like a maze with a lot of twists and turns, it was a good thing that she had a good sense of direction. Jas was surprised at how many people: dragons, humans, and elves alike were in the library. She could feel them and where they were even if she couldn't see them, although she could feel their minds she was careful not to enter their mind. Violet would always say _"A persons mind is there last place of security and privacy. Do not enter without permission, unless the situation calls for it and even then you shouldn't wander into private areas." _Violet made her point by telling Jas some of her…lesser…fantasies, most containing Owen. The thought of it made her cheeks redden.

She then realized that she had projected that thought and some of the library patrons were aware of it. Jas pulled back extinguishing her telepathic radius and placed a strong barrier around her mind to make sure no thoughts would get in or out. Her face reddened even more. After some time she regained her composure and opened up her mind again and was extra careful not to project any thoughts. Time passed and every turn looked like the last, the presence of humans winked out as she walked and was replaced by a dragons or a human's replaced a dragon's, maybe it was an elf, she could not tell anymore.

As she walked she heard some books fall followed by a loud, "Damn it!" Curiosity got the best of her and she made her way to the source. She entered a small clearing unbroken by shelves and found Chad standing over a pile of books next to an old table, she saw many of them in similar clearings like this. She knew she had never been in this part of the library before because she can tell her friends apart from others, Chad was easy to sense with her mind. His mind was dark and ominous but wasn't that different from Owen's, she was almost afraid of it, not quite but almost. Jas drew herself in and extinguished her telepathic radius.

Jas walked over to Chad and asked, "Is there something the matter?"

Chad looked over his shoulder, "Hey." Chad shook his head, "No, nothing is wrong. Just a little frustrated." Chad wiped sweat off of his head.

"Well maybe I can help." Jas offered.

Chad shook his head again, "I doubt it." He rummaged though the pile of books and pulled out one with a tattered black cover. "I found this book that has some ways to use darkness in various ways. I was just trying some out with no results." He tossed the book on the pile, "I just need to catch my breath." He sat down on one of the chairs around the table.

"You haven't see Violet by any chance have you?" Jas asked.

Chad looked up, "As a matter of fact I have." He pointed behind him to a corridor of shelves, "She went down there and took a right. That's all I know."

"Thank you." Jas replied.

"Anytime." Chad got up and grabbed the black book, "I need to get some air." He then walked where Jas came from and disappeared.

Jas walked down the way Chad pointed and found Violet sitting in a chair in a small clearing reading a book. She closed the book, "About time you got here." Violet levitated the book to its place on the bookshelf, "We will do this every other day to expand the distance that you can sense beings." Violet grinned, "In the meantime perhaps we can practice controlling your thoughts." Jas reddened and Violet gave an amuse laugh, "In time you will learn Jasmine, in time you will learn.

__

Cynder was sitting away from the others training, she had just finished aerial with a young boy, the boy looked like he just learned how to fly. She showed restraint when fighting him, as much as she could at least. She looked up and saw the dragon she loved fighting a blue dragon with lighter blue flecks. Spyro had just erupted into a ball of fire and rocketed forward hitting the blue dragon. Spyro was truly amazing and she loved him with all her life, he saved her on more that one occasion, but she loved him for more that that, he was the only one who gave her affection despite the fact that she tried killed him. It was because she loved him that she had to let him go, otherwise she would kill him. Ever since that night she had though that way, she knew the dream to be true and she hated herself for what she would do. "If I have to leave him, why does it then feel so wrong?" she asked herself.

"What feels wrong?" Cynder looked up hoping it wasn't Spyro, luckily it wasn't, it was Ember.

Cynder sighed, "Nothing important." _If only that were true_.

"Ok." Ember looked around the training yard, "You haven't seen a red dragon anywhere have you?"

"No, why?" Cynder asked.

"He is usually on the castle grounds, I have been looking all day." Ember said disappointed.

"I'm sure he will turn up." Cynder replied. Cynder's blood turned to ice, Spyro was walking over to them.

"Who are you looking for, maybe I can help." Spyro asked.

Ember turned her head, "Hello Spyro. I was just looking for one of my friends. He is a red dragon and…" She cocked her head, "and now that I think about it he looks an awful lot like you."

"So we are looking for a red Spyro. That shouldn't be hard to find." Cynder sounded amused, _Why is he avoiding my glance? _Cynder asked herself then avoided his.

Ember looked at them and asked, "Is everything alright?"

Neither of them answered, "I just came to tell you that Brad just released everyone." Spyro said to Cynder.

"O…ok, thanks." Cynder replied shakily.

"I'm going to look for your friend now." Spyro directed to Ember and flew off.

"What was that all about?" Ember asked.

Cynder sighed, "Can I ask you a question…girl to girl."

"Sure." Ember said warily sitting down.

Cynder paused for a little then asked, "Do…do you think I'm the right one for Spyro?"

"Where did that come from?" Ember asked back.

Cynder shook her head, "I just…I just feel that some things are not meant to be. Like I was never meant to be with Spyro."

"Nonsense!" Ember shouted, it made Cynder jump a little, "You two are meant for each other and I will hear no more of this." Ember got up, "What ever gave you that idea?"

"I…I can't tell you." Cynder avoided Embers hard stare.

"Then tell me this, what does your heart say?" Ember asked.

Cynder turned her head and stared at her blankly, "My heart?""Yes what does it tell you?"

Cynder sighed, "My heart," She paused, "tells me that I should be with Spyro.""Well there you go." Ember said satisfied.

"But my head tells me that it will end badly and that I should forget Spyro." Cynder avoided Ember's stare again.

Ember walked over and put a wing on her shoulder, "Listen, I can't help you if you won't help yourself. You need to resolve this problem on your own." Ember then flew away leaving Cynder alone in the empty training yard.

__

The Keeper of Fate was sitting behind his white desk in his white study which was a dramatic contrast to his black cloths. On his desk was a crystal ball, in the crystal ball was the image of Cynder sitting alone weeping. Fate shook his head disappointing and rubbed his eyes that nobody could see because his hood from his cloak shrouded them. The door to the study opened and the Keeper of Destiny stepped through, she was garbed the same way as Fate but all white, her face was shrouded as well. The wall, floor, and any area around and past her appeared black to the eye, even though it was white but anything in the field of view, about a foot around her, was black. This seemed impossible and maybe it was, but this was the Keeper of Fate's realm and he made the rules here. This rule was so he could find any of his sisters if they entered his all white realm.

"What do you intend on doing?" she asked.

Fate looked at the crystal ball. The image was different, it was split in two, on the right half it shoved Cynder weeping, on the other it shoved Spyro on a grassy hill holding back tears. "I intend to talk to him tonight while he is asleep." The image change into a cloud of smoke then into Owen running in a grassy plain.

"Do you really think that is wise?" Destiny asked.

Fate got up, "You know what brother Watcher did was wrong, using the worst possible outcome of both of their lives to separate them. He disregards the deal we made with the Immortals so very long ago, 'We will not alter the destiny or fate of those that are not born.' We don't even know if their child caused all of that destruction." Fate scratched his head, "On top of that this separation will not just separate Spyro and Cynder, but everyone they know, and that will be much worse."

"How can you be so sure? The deal also states, 'Prevent destruction by any means necessary.' Have you forgotten that part of the deal?" Destiny asked.

"I believe that the destruction is an inevitability that cannot be prevented, but can be stopped. I don't know how yet but this will only make it that much harder to stop. That I am sure off." Fate waited for Destiny to respond.

Destiny paced slowly and her background changed from black to white and back to black as she walked, "I believe you are right, but what will happen to you?"

"I do not want you to get in trouble. If brother Watcher has a problem and speaks out against me I will take full responsibility.""When will you talk to Owen?" Destiny asked.

Fate looked at the crystal ball, Owen was still running, "Tonight, I think after today he will sleep easy." Fate walked over to his chair at his desk and sat down.

"I pray for you to succeed." Destiny then walked out of the door and the room was white again.

Fate looked at the crystal ball and a small smirk came to his lips, "I hope this works to."

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**I apologize for this chapter being so overdue and I hope that nothing will go wrong with my new computer this time. I will be coming out with chapters regularly unless something comes up, but they won't be as late as this one.**


	20. Chapter 20

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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**Chapter 20: Fate's Intervention**

Ace was sitting among the large roots of the ancient trees resting. Ace herd footsteps and looked up to see Owen half running. As Owen got closer Ace could hear him panting and Owen sat down among the roots to catch his breath. Owen eventually caught his breath and turned to Ace, "You're a real ass, you know that right?" Ace threw his head back and gave a long hearty laugh which Owen joined in.

Ace wiped away tears from laughing so hard and turned to Owen, "Trust me, this will pay off in the long run."

"I hope so, because I don't want to run that everyday." Owen laid back his head drawing in a deep breath.

"Well the rest of the day is yours to enjoy." Ace stood up and stretched, "I have some errands to run. By the way, you run pretty fast, that will make this go a lot quicker." Ace got a running start then leaped into the air turning into a dragon and flew off towards the castle.

Owen snorted, "What's left of the day anyways." Owen looked up at the sky and looked at the sun, by its position figured that no more than a few hours past, "I guess dad was right, I am fast." He caught his breath and stood up judging the distance he traveled, it should have taken two or three times as long. _What's happening to me?,_ he thought to himself, _What have I become?_ He then looked to the castle and remembered it was far away, he decided that he would walk towards the castle for awhile to rest his muscles before flying. "At least it is a beautiful day." talking to no one but himself.

Owen walked along chewing on some mint leaves he found, at least they tasted like mint. He probably shouldn't have taken him, but after missing breakfast he was grateful for anything that was edible. The land was starting to get more hilly and he saw more trees, not as big as those that were in the forest though, as he got closer to the castle and the sun was lower in the sky. As he got on top of one of the hills he saw a purple figure on the next hill over, "Hey Spyro!" Owen shouted waving his arms. "I guess he didn't hear me." Owen threw the mint tasting leaves away and spit out what remained in his mouth. Owen ran down the hill and up to Spyro's despite his vigorous marathon this morning. He got to the top of the hill and saw the purple dragon staring blankly at the sky with a few tears rolling down his face, "Hey Spyro, something the matter?"

Spyro shook his head as if coming out of a trance and quickly wiped his tears away, "No I just got something in my eye."

"Yea there called tears buddy." Owen said dropping to the ground to sit, crossing his legs, "Now come on, what is the problem."

Spyro sighed, "Nothing for you to worry about."

Owen saw that he was not making any progress and quickly changed the subject, "So I take it that Brad dismissed everyone?"

"Yea, he let us go some time ago." Spyro still sounded down.

Owen sighed and shook his head, "If you don't want to talk about it fine." Owen laid down on the grass and closed his eyes.

__

To Steve's amazement it looked like he just stepped outside even though there was no way he could have in the middle of a room. "How is this possible?" he asked Navon in amazement.

"Anything is possible with magic." Navon hooted with amusement. The large stone door closed behind them, "You are now in the part of the University known as the Entry." Steve looked around and saw more stone doors with faces carved on them arranged in a semicircle. The faces on the door were as each unique, ranging from young men and women to old wrinkled faces. "Each one of those doors lead to another place in the world much like the one we just entered. Now if you would be so kind to follow me." Navon asked and flew off which Steve followed as best he could behind.

Steve saw many other people young and old, they all carried staffs or wands ranging in size and shape and sometimes accompanied by a creature of some kind. They all wore either blue, red, green, yellow, or grey robes, which were also as unique as there staves. Some wore white robes and did not carry a staff or wand or had a creature following them. They all had one thing in common though, they all had some place to go and made no attempt on stopping until they got there.

Steve was so bewildered by all of this he did not even notice that he walked into a woman wearing a dark green robe carrying a twisted wood staff. "You blundering idiot! Watch were your going!" she shouted at him.

Steve stumbled backwards, behind the woman was a tall man that seemed to be made out of grey stone. It seemed to wear Arab style pants and nothing else and had its stone hair in dreadlocks. It almost looked like it would have been a tall man if it did not look like stone. "Is this one bothering you?" it asked in a deep booming voice.

The woman snorted, "Yes, now I am going to be late for my class. It is not right for a teacher to be late for her own class."

"I'm sorry I…I didn't…" Steve tried to apologize but was cut off.

"There is a lot of things that you didn't do I know. Wait until Headmaster Hector hears about this." The woman threatened.

"There you are." Navon hooted and landed on the stone man's shoulder, "I thought I lost you for a minute."

"You mean that this whelp is with you?" The woman asked angrily.

"Now Trish you cannot be hard on this boy." Navon replied. " Hector thinks that this boy has great potential."Trish raised an eyebrow, "You mean this is the one?" Trish eyed Steve up, "Hector made him sound a lot taller."

"This is his first time hear, he hasn't been though the Shaping, but Hector has high expectations for him." Navon said proudly.

"What's the Shaping?" Steve asked but was ignored.

"As much as I would love to chat I don't have time for it." Trish turned to the golem, "Come on Shamir."

The stone golem, Shamir, followed Trish obediently, "Yes ma'am."

"That was Trish, she is one of the teachers hear at the University." Navon said fluttering down to Steve's arm.

Steve looked behind him to see if Trish and Shamir were still there, "What was that thing? Shamir was his name right? And what is this Shaping?"

Navon laughed, "Shamir is a golem from another realm, much like you and I, nothing like the golems of this realm. The Shaping on the other hand…well you will find out in time." Navon paused, "Lets continue with the tour before it gets to late."

__

Sleep soon came to Owen and he was standing in a white room and a man dressed in all black was sitting behind a white desk that matched the rest of the room. Owen couldn't make out his face but recognized who he was. Without looking up the Keeper of Fate said, "Doze off now did you? No matter, it is good you did now than latter, but then I figured you would."

Owen looked around the room and its odd décor, most of the items in the room seemed to have one side that made a dimensional figure, "I have some questions, like how you know so much about me and how I got here."

"In time you will know, but in the meantime have a seat." Before Owen knew it he was sitting down but he knew he didn't, and he was now sitting closer to the desk. Fate put the quill he was writing with in an ink jar and looked up, Owen still could not make out his features, "One question I will answer is what Spyro's problem is, even if that is not the one you want answered right now. But to answer one of yours temporarily, I see all, therefore I know all." Fate paused, "My…colleges have decided that it would be best to separate Spyro and Cynder, but I think that it is a terrible mistake."

"That's horrible! Why would they do that? What provoked them?" Owen asked.

Fate sighed, "Something very, very bad will happen in the future and they think that Spyro and Cynder's child will be the one who does it. I on the other hand don't think so, they all voted on it and believe it was the right choice. I believe this bad thing will happen regardless and this separation will only make it worse. You have to do everything you can to bring them back together."

"Why me, you obviously have power, why don't you do it?" Owen asked.

"My collogues and I cannot directly influence the mortal realms. We can only enter the minds of mortals and tell them what will happen and how to prevent it." Fate looked Owen in the eyes, at least Owen thought he did, "Just like what I'm doing now."

"How will I make them believe any of this?" Owen asked putting a little humor behind it.

Fate rubbed where his eyes would be, "Try and convince Spyro, if you do not succeed we will confront him tonight. Also please remind Steve about talking to your father about protection against magic."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Owen asked.

Fate laughed, "Always full of questions, but the time for answers is over. It is time for you to go." Owen saw a white flash and he slowly began to wake.

__

Owen yawned as he wok up and realized that the sun was nearing the horizon, _How long was I out?_, he asked himself, then asked Spyro.

"A few hours." He still sounded down.

"Listen, Spyro, I know what is bothering you." Owen said calmly.

Spyro stared at Owen, "You...you do?"

"Yea, I had some time to…think…about it, and it make sense that she would be the only thing that could be on your mind." Owen tried to keep a level voice.

"I wish I knew what to do." Spyro shook his head, "There are so many thoughts in my head about her, it feels like we were not meant for each other." The next thing Spyro knew he saw spots and was on the ground, Owen punched him in the face, "What was that for?"

Owen stood up, "I don't want to hear any sob story about why you shouldn't be together, what I want to here is why you should."

"You still didn't have to punch me." Spyro was rubbing his cheek.

"Of course I did, need to knock some sense into you." Owen said humorously.

"Yea I guess your right." Spyro paused and sighed, "But it is not that simple. I had a dream, a vision, and in that vision I was evil and I killed Cynder. Owen, I killed her!" Owen could tell that Spyro was holding back tears, "I know that it was not a dream but a look into the future. I can't let her die."

"So you will break her heart?" Owen asked.

Spyro looked shocked, "No, that is not what I meant. I just want her to be happy and live a long life and she won't get that from me."

Owen sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Spyro, I'm not tell you that you or Cynder will live a full life, we all may die tomorrow for I know, but wouldn't you rather spend that time that you are alive alone and miserable or with the one you care about?" Spyro was thinking about what Owen was saying at least, "You need to decide, before it is to late." Owen, not waiting for a reply, flew off towards the castle leaving Spyro alone to contemplate.

"Maybe he is right…or maybe he is wrong." Spyro shook his head, "I don't know what to do anymore." Spyro looked up to see the sun setting and flew to the castle.

__

Kim was looking for someone and she was going to find her. Ever since she had lost her battle this morning in the training yard she had been looking for her. _I will find her before the day is done_, which wasn't that for away. Kim wandered for hours until she came to a dead end. "This doesn't make any sense, her scent leads this way, but all that's here is a wall." Kim sighed and leaned on the wall where the scent lead. The wall behind her moved and she toppled backwards. She got up and saw a small room behind her with a woman with green hair sitting in a chair.

"What are you doing here!" the woman exclaimed.

Kim smiled, "Terry I have been looking everywhere for you."

Terry sniffed, "And managed to locate my hidden room as well." Terry got up and pushed the wall to close it. "Well what do you want?"

"I want you to train me be like you." Kim said without hesitation.

Terry thought for awhile, "On two conditions. One, don't tell anyone that I am training you and if anyone asks tell them nothing and two, don't tell anyone where this room is, or show them."

Kim smiled, "Deal."

"Good, now get out of here." Terry shooed Kim out, "I will come to you to teach you, do not seek me out for training."

Kim walked down the hall with the smile of success on her face.

__

Jas hadn't seen Owen since morning and it was getting dark, she was a little worried. Jas started to hear the banging of a hammer on metal and followed the sound. "That enough for today, you can turn in." The voice was coming from the room ahead of her, the voice sounded tough.

"No its alright, I like the work." Jas recognized the voice as Evan's and slowly opened the door and saw Even over and anvil wearing a dirty apron.

"If you keep on working like this you will kill yourself." The man chuckled, Jas saw him before, Sven was his name.

Jas opened the door all the way and both of the men's heads turned, "Have either of you seen Owen?" She asked.

"No, not since this morning." Evan said.

"Speaking of which, where have you been?" Jas asked suspiciously, she noticed that some of Evan's skin was puffy and red.

Sven spoke up in a burly voice placing one hand on Evan's shoulder, "My _apprentice_ and I have been making new armor for the King's army. Evan was trying something new with gauntlets."

Evan picked up some crude gauntlets to show Jas, they had spikes on the knuckles, "Just a little project I was working on."

Sven snorted, "They are impractical, no one would be crazy enough to go into a real battle with just gauntlets, spiked or no." He said the last part firmly.

"Well if you see him tell him I am looking for him." Jas then exited the forge. She herd hem arguing about the usefulness of spiked gauntlets until she rounded the corner. _Maybe he is in his room._ She thought confidently and made her way to his quarters. She came to his door and knocked.

"Come in." was heard from the other side, at least Owen was in his room.

Jas opened the door and the room was dark with nothing but the dim light from the moon shining through the window. She had to feel the wall to know where she was going. Jas looked around the room and saw two pairs of slightly glowing golden eyes staring at her, one belong to Owen, the other to Boe. "It is awfully dark in here."

A white light suddenly started to fill the room. Owen was holding up his left hand with a white flame enveloping his hand, "Is that better?" He asked, he was holding the black and gold history book.

"You know you shouldn't read in the dark, it will hurt your eyes." Jas walked over and sat on his bed.

"Yea I know," Owen replied, "but to be honest it didn't seem all that dark to me until you mentioned it." Boe barked and Owen gave a small laugh, "So what did you want to talk about?"

Jas shrugged her shoulders, "Just wondering where you have been all day."

"After dad made me run I hung around Spyro for the rest of the day. I then just recently came here." Owen then explained in more detail.

"So you noticed it too." Jas sounded surprised.

"Yea, I had some time to think about it and it seemed to be the only thing to get him so down." Owen shook his head, "I tried talking to him but I don't know if it helped."

"I wish I could help, but your better at talking to people about there problems than I am." Jas laughed and Owen joined in. After awhile the laughter died down, "Do you think this will ever be over?"

"What do you mean?" Owen asked.

Jas stood up and paced the room, "All of this," she motioned all around her, "will anything be the way it once was? Could we just go on living our lives once Nexus is defeated?"

Owen scratched his head, "We could try."

"Is it that simple?" Jas asked forcefully, "Could we go on despite what we have and will go through? Is it really that simple?" not letting Owen reply she continued on, "And what will you do when you finally face Nexus."

"No," Owen interrupted, "not me. Ace will take care of him, he is stronger and more experienced. I was not meant for great things and I do not wish to be a hero."

Jas stared at him blankly, "What will you do then?"

Owen stood up and placed the book on his dresser, "I will do what I have to." Owen avoided looking at Jas.

Jas gave a soft laugh, "It is already to late."

Owen glanced at Jas, "For what?"

"Being a hero, a lot of people look up to you."

Owen shook his head, "I just do what is right, that's all."

Jas walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, he turned around to face her, "Sometimes that's all someone has to do to be a hero." Jas moved her face closer to Owen's and kissed him on the cheek, although brief, "Good night, my hero." Jas exited Owen's room, Owen touched where Jas kissed him and smiled.

__

Owen tossed his shirt by his bags and readied himself for sleep, "She seems quite fond of you." Boe barked.

"Gee, whatever gave you that idea." Owen said sarcastically.

"When will you two mate?" Boe asked calmly.

Owen blushed, "It is not as simple as…that is personal, why would you ask that?" Owen tried to change the subject.

Boe was persistent "Sure it is all you have to do is..."

"That is not what I meant." Owen interrupted, "In our culture, back on Earth, we have marriage and…its complicated."

Boe snorted, "Sounds like a lot of trouble if you ask me."

Owen laid down on his bed, "I don't want to talk about it." Owen rolled over and fell asleep.

__

Nexus was standing in his tower looking at the moons. A Nightwalker stepped out of he shadows and walked over to Nexus soundlessly, "Prepare the army, we leave now." the Nightwalker bowed and stepped back into the shadows. Nexus walked over to the crystal ball in the center of the room held by a skeletal hand. "I need him when the time comes." the crystal ball gave the image of Owen sleeping inside it, "He will prove useful." Nexus places his pale hand on the crystal ball, "I need him to turn to the darkness." The crystal ball formed the faint image of Umbra's face. Nexus then walked over to his balcony and looked at his undead army laid out before him. "Nothing will stand in my way." Nexus's tower stood up on four spidery legs that were attached equidistant from each other halfway up the tower raising it an hundred or so feet into the air. The purple crystal that littered the tower began to glow and a sinister smile came to Nexus's lips as the tower began to move.

__

Owen was standing in front of a large pyramid, a light was glowing at the top of it, the pyramid was inside a much larger room. Owen heard a maniacal laughter and Owen felt a sharp pain in his head as his shadow stood up and turned into a dark reflection of Owen. "You are not real." Owen told the shadow, "I reject your existence."

The shadow punched Owen in the face and he was thrown back on the ground, "Then I guess that wasn't real either."

Owen got up and a sword appeared in his hand, "I thought Fate had destroyed you."

Umbra threw back his head and laughed, "You fool, I am apart of you. I am the shadow in your heart and they are becoming stronger with each day." Umbra attacked Owen with a black sword that appeared out of nowhere, Owen barely blocked in time. "This body will be mine."

"Over my bloody corpse!" Owen shouted and locked swords with Umbra.

Umbra gave a sinister smile, "That can be arranged." Umbra released a giant beam of darkness at Owen while their swords were locked. Owen flew back and impacted the pyramid shooting straight though it and stopped when he hit one of the walls of the giant room.

Owen's body was racked with pain but that soon subsided as broken bones healed and realigned themselves, "Dam it." Owen whimpered.

Umbra flew at Owen with blinding speed and was stopped as a black figure appeared and caught the sword with jet black gauntlets, "How are you still able to affect this body?" Fate asked demandingly and without emotion.

"You cannot stop me Keeper." Umbra said confidently.

"Owen, are you alright?" Fate asked still holing Umbra's sword.

Owen dusted himself off, "I'll live."

"Good." Fate started to say an incantation in a language Owen did not understand, Umbra started to dematerialize from the feet up.

"So that is what your plan is, huh?" Umbra asked calmly.

"If nothing else, it will buy us some time." Fate said equally as calm.

Umbra smirked, "He better be ready then, because I will be much stronger when you are done with him."

Just as Umbra's face started to disappear Fate whispered, "I know." and Umbra faded from Owen's mind.

Owen didn't feel any trace of Umbra in his mind, "What did you do? Is he gone for good."

Fate gathered the few remaining black wisps and formed them into a small ball. Fate turned and forced the ball into Owen's chest, pain once again racked Owen's body, "No, I have sealed him for the time being." A faint dark spot was visible on Owen's chest about the size of both of his fist, "This mark will appear in the waking world on your body, only you will see it though."

Owen gasped for air, "Wh…why?"

Fate bent over to help Owen up, "As a reminder. When that mark turns completely black Umbra will be released and you both will fight for possession of this body." Owen was still catching his breath, "In that time I will train you."

"How?" Owen asked.

"Every night I will train you in your mind, for that is where you will fight Umbra." Fate said all to calmly, "The knowledge of the training will be passed on to you when you wake, you will remember everything." Fate paced, "You will still sleep, even though it won't be as restful."

"Will I beat him?" Owen asked, "You can tell the future, will I beat him?"

Fate pulled a coin from his sleeve, "A toss of a coin could tell as much as I know, for I can only tell what may happen and how probable it is." Fate flipped the coin in the air, "A fifty-fifty chance either way."

"When do we start?" Owen asked rubbing his chest

Fate caught the coin out of the air, "Now." He then turned around and a sword with a curved blade and leather wrapped grip appeared in his hand, the front part of the guard curved up and formed a blade that met the main blade. "Now attack me."

"What about Spyro and Cynder?"

"I think you are handling the situation well enough, now attack me!" Owen tightened his grip on his sword and charged at Fate.

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**Thank you for reading and I just wanted to say to all of those who posted about spelling and grammar errors, I am not ignoring you, I will make corrections when this story is finished. That being said, Next chapter out soon.**


	21. Chapter 21

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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**Chapter 21: The Shaping**

Five weeks past and in that time everyone acquired their own daily routine. In the morning everyone would meet in the dining hall for breakfast, Owen was sometimes late from oversleeping from the extended training sessions from Fate. They then went to the training yard to practice combat, all except Steve who would go to the University with Hector and Navon for morning classes and wouldn't return until late afternoon. The same was for Evan who would forge with Sven, but this was not all work, Sven taught Evan how to fight with a wide arrangement of weapons, including hand to hand. Evan was getting tougher and stronger each day and, as Fate said, wasn't hurt by anything but magic, although he was still careful in the forge. Halfway through training Ace and Owen would fly off to practice the Light Step and other light techniques, Owen was able to Light step short distances after the third week. Jas would be summoned by Violet around the same time and would work on Jas's telepathy and psycho kinesis until early afternoon. Chad would slip away after training and wouldn't return until after dark. Terry would find Kim and secretly teach her the art of the assassin, they too would not return until after dark. Terry and Kim would not train every day though, Kim would hang around Evan at the forge during her time off. Ty hung around Axel when he wasn't trying to find out more about his father or training, they would spend hours on end disusing how they would take down Gale and whether or not they should tell anyone else about their secret. Ace would run his "errands" and was seen scarcely around the castle, except in the early morning and late afternoon. Ace didn't sentence Count Alexander Linnaeus to death, Ace said that he would be useful latter but not in his current obese state and instead made him do vigorous exercise until he dropped from exhaustion. Alexander would have chosen death if it was up to him. Owen would try and convince Spyro and Cynder, who still avoided each other, to get back together, but not while they were both around though. Owen seemed to be making slow progress with Spyro, Cynder on the other hand had not changed her mind. At night Owen would train with the Keeper of Fate who would sometime answer some of Owen's questions about his existence, Owen's sword and fighting form was improving and Brad and Ace were impressed, Owen finally found a teacher as fast as him. Jas on the other hand was frequently plagued with dreams of a giant snake casing her through a cave, she would wake up in a cold sweat and would not fall back asleep. On one occasion, to Owen's surprise, Jas sought him out to ask if she could sleep in his room with him. To Owen's displeasure Boe was badgering him about the event for days. Owen and Chad were admitted into the Order of the Dragon and had the order mark under their right collarbone, they had small crowns painted above the mark to show that they were Royalty. The paint was magic and was permanent unless removed through arcane ways. Aside from breakfast, they would all eat at separate times. This is how it went for five weeks, until one morning at breakfast.

__

"Good morning everyone." Ace looked around and noticed a missing face, "Where's Owen?"

"Here I am." Owen yawned entering the dinning room.

"Rough night?" Ace asked.

Owen chuckled softly, "You have no idea." Owen took a piece of bread and began chewing it lazily.

"I just wanted to let everyone know," Ace began, "that there will be a Ball hosted at the castle tomorrow."

"You mean like a dance?" Evan asked.

"There will be dancing." Ace said, "Feel free to attend if you like."

Owen took another slice of bread, "Then I will exercise my right not to attend."

"Not so fast Prince Owen." Ace said. Whenever Ace addressed Owen or Chad as "prince" they knew the next thing had to do with royal standards, "As royalty you and Chad," Ace shot a glance towards Chad, "have to attend the Ball."

Jas spoke up, "Do you think it is a good idea to have a Ball when the economy is in poverty?"

"You may have noticed, or not, that I have been stimulating the economy." Ace replied, "Remember the errands I was running?"

"I remember." Chad said, "Some nights you came back smelling of alcohol." Everyone got a good laugh out of that, even Ace.

"I cannot attend the Ball." Steve sounded like he was hiding something.

"Can I at least know why?" Ace asked crossing his arms.

Steve hesitated, "I…I have my Shaping tomorrow."

"What the hell is Shaping?" Evan asked, "You going to make something."

"I can't go into detail, but it is the next step in becoming a full mage." Steve sounded a little scared.

"I understand." Was all Ace said.

Steve looked up but still had a scared look on his face, "Thank you."

"I have canceled training for today, all training." Ace shot a look at Kim, he knew what she was doing, "So take this as a rare opportunity to rest and ready yourself for the Ball, should you attend." Ace turned to the door, "Now if you excuse me, I have to teach Chad and Owen how to behave at a Royal event. Chad, Owen, lets go." Ace exited the dinning room with Owen and Chad following behind.

"So what? Are we suppose to get a date?" Evan asked.

Jas laughed, "It is not like prom, you don't have to get one if you don't want to."

"But we can if we want to? Right?"

"I don't see why not." Jas replied, "Why, got someone in mind?"

Evan scratched his chin, "I might."

Ty slapped his hands on the table and got up, "If you excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

"Where do you have to go?" Kim asked.

"I need to go find out who will be coming tomorrow, maybe some of the nobles know something about our father." Ty answered.

"I have somewhere to be too." Steve said gathering his books in his bag, "I have class regardless of events." Steve exited the dinning room with great haste followed by Ty.

Evan shook his head, "Steve works to much, speaking of which, I have to make sure Sven knows about this." Even then exited the dinning room.

"I…I have to go too." Spyro said quietly and walked out.

"You two are starting to get on my nerves." Jas said to Cynder when Spyro was gone.

Cynder looked up then back down, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." Jas replied forcefully, "I don't know what is going on but its getting ridiculous."

"I will tell you the same thing I told Owen." Cynder was on the brink of tears, "I don't love him anymore."

Jas moved closer to Cynder, "Cynder, I don't need my telepathy to know your lying."

Cynder burst into tears, "Jas I…I don't know what to do. I love him b…but something is telling me that I shouldn't."

"That something doesn't know what its talking about." Jas snifed. Jas put a hand on one of Cynder's wings, "Look, I'm not good at talking to people, but that doesn't mean that I don't know what's right for someone. What is right for Spyro is you, and you for him." Jas walked out of the dinning room and closed the door, when she did she heard weeping from the other side. Jas bit her lip and started to wonder whether she did the right thing.

__

Steve entered Hector's study in the castle, he tried to enter the University but the stone door denied him, it didn't even ask a riddle. "Headmaster?" Steve asked knocking on the door, "Headmaster Hector."

"Come in boy." Was heard from the other side of the door. The door swung open soundlessly and Steve entered, "What do you want?"

"The door to the University wouldn't let me in." Steve was a little tense.

"I told the door to wait for both you and me." Hector was reading his spell book, "You see Steven, you will be going though your Shaping today."Steve's eyes widened, "But I thought it was tomorrow, what if I'm not ready?"

Hector began to laugh, "You are more than ready, you have advanced quite fast for one your age." Hector got up and tucked his spell book under his arm, "Come, we will leave for the University, Navon is in charge of preparations and they should be done." Steve followed Hector down the castle halls, Hector was using his staff for walking, "Have you decided what kind of mage you want to be?"

"A good mage." Steve said humorously.

Hector laughed, "You know what I mean."

Steve paused, "Could you tell me what they are again?"

"Certainly." Hector gathered his thoughts, "Grey mages are scribes and keepers of knowledge, they keep records of all major events and discoveries of the age. Yellow mages concentrate on healing and the improvement on the health of all, they are both skilled in magical and natural healing along with making potions and salves. Green mages are concerned with the wellbeing of nature and all who live in it, in other words, they are guardians of nature. Red mages are what we call battle mages, they are more active in wars and skirmishes and specialize in aggressive and offensive magic, they sometimes have a temper to match. Blue mages, like myself, make sure that the forces in this world are balanced, we are also fight for justice and like the Red mages are skilled in offensive magic but excel in defensive magic." Hector paused, "Does that refresh you memory?"

"Yea thanks." Steve thought for thought for awhile, "I think that I will be a blue mage."

"Sometimes we always don't get what we want." Hector replied.

"I'll remember that." Steve said suspiciously. They walked and finally made it to the door to the University, surprisingly it didn't ask a riddle but nodded to Steve. They entered though the portal to the University, there was the usual amount of people going where they needed to go. Steve followed close behind Hector, people actually stopped and moved aside for them. Eventually it felt like Steve was going through a procession, perhaps he was. Hector lead Steve to the ritual chamber that he was told not to enter without the guidance and permission of a full mage. Hector opened the door and motioned for Steve to go inside.

As Steve passed Hector he whispered to Steve, "Once you enter only speak in Vetus Lingua."

Inside the chamber there was a symbol drawn on the floor that had many circles and lines drawn within a larger circle that took up the whole room, nine mages were at the edge of the room equidistant from each other, two from each mage type including Hector. Hector instructed Steve to stand in the center of the room in Vetus Lingua, Latin.

Hector walked over to the far end of the room and picked up a plain white rod about four feet long and an inch thick. He handed the rod to Steve and whispered once again in Vetus Lingua, "Answer when asked, act on instinct, and do what your told. Remember, only speak in Vetus Lingua." Hector walked behind the alter and placed his spell book on it opening the book to the proper page. Hector cleared his throat, "Ready yourself apprentice, the Shaping has begun."

The mages in the circle spoke in unison, all speaking Latin, "To tear the flesh and break the bone."

Hector spoke next, "To be born anew in your image." They were only spoke in Vetus Lingua.

"An image that is long hidden."

"Now it will be brought out." Hector put force in his words, the rod Steve was holding was glowing.

"Brought out into the light." The mages unison was perfect.

"A light that it has never seen."

"But a light that it has always know."

Steve started to lose sense of feeling and hearing, his body grew numb and his vision blur. The voices started to slur and become unintelligible. Steve blacked out.

__

Evan entered the forge, he knew Sven was in there because he herd the banging of a hammer to metal. Sven looked up, "You can take the day off."

"I figured that you would say that." Evan walked over to Sven, "Ace said to rest for today, no training." Evan chuckled, "I guess he knew about our little spars."

"Well there won't be any sparing for today." Sven hammered on the piece of steel, "I just have to finish this breastplate and then I'm done, I'm not suppose to be working today either." Sven stopped hammering and looked up at Evan, "So if he asks, you didn't see me in the forge."

Evan made his way to the door, "Fine, I'll tell him I meet you in the hall."

"As long as it isn't the forge." Sven said hammering the metal taking his time, a good blacksmith takes his time on his work.

Evan walked around and made his way to the tallest tower of the castle, it wasn't in the center of the castle, but at the edge of it making the drop even more sheer. The room was small and was bland if it wasn't for a single window and birds nest. To no surprise Evan found Kim sitting on the windowsill. "I'm not bothering you am I?" Evan asked.

Kim had a small brown bird in her hand, she was petting it, "No, I was just watching the birds." She opened her hand and put it out of the window and the bird took off. Dusting off her hands she asked, "So why have you sought me out."

"I was just wondering if you were going to the Ball." Evan asked sheepishly.

Kim rocked on the windowsill, "I might, why do you ask."

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Ball," Evan swallowed hard, "with me."

Kim was speechless, she rocked back, the windowsill cracked and sent her toppling out of the window.

Evan's heart stopped, he rushed to the window and without thinking jumped out after her, her put his arms and legs together to become more streamline to catch up to Kim. Evan reached out his hand and grabbed her and pulled her close to him twisting his body so that his would be closer to the ground. He wrapped his arms around her and a terrifying thought came to Evan, _We're going to die_, Evan hugged Kim close and he felt his shoulder hit the stone bricks bellow. Evan got the air knocked out of him and he gasped for air, to his surprise he didn't feel any pain at all. Evan got air in his lungs and gave a sigh of relief, he felt Kim move on top of him and he realized that he was still tightly hugging her. He let go and she sat up on top of him.

"I can't believe you jump out after me." Kim was still shocked from the fall, "We should be dead for that matter."

Evan smiled knowing that she was alive, "It was a good thing these bricks were here to break our fall."

"Why would you do that? Why did you jump out after me?" Kim asked.

Evan thought for a moment then said, "You didn't tell me if you would go to the Ball with me."

Kim smiled at him, "Of course I will go with you, I can't really say no after what just happened." Kim noticed how she was sitting on Evan and moved off of him and helped him up.

Evan looked at the damage that was done and realized the crater to be bigger that he thought, _A good thing no one was standing here_, he thought to himself. "Come on, lets get out of here before we get in trouble."

"Yea." Kim said then asked, "How did we live anyway?"

"Its complicated." Evan replied.

"I've got time." Kim responded.

__

Owen was bored, but at least Ace was finishing up, "And finally, respect yourself and be well mannered."

"Are we done now?" Owen asked, he would much rather be training.

"Yes, that should cover what you two need to know." Ace was addressing both Chad and Owen.

Chad stood up, "Good, now what exactly are we going to wear?"

"Chad don't!" Owen shouted.

"Well you can go the seamstress in the castle, she always has something nice for a formal event." Ace was enjoying this, Owen knew it.

"You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?" Owen gave a foul look towards Chad.

Chad shrugged, "Sorry, it just slipped out."

"You should go to her now." Ace walked to the door, "I have to make final preparations."

When the door closed Chad faced Owen, "Are you sure you have everything under control?"

"What do you mean?" Owen asked suspiciously.

"Well for one, every day I feel the darkness in you growing." Chad pointed to Owens chest, "And that mark gets darker and darker."

Owen swatted Chad's hand away, "How are you able to see it? Fate said that only I could."

"So this is something of a higher importance than I once thought." Chad was shaking his head.

Owen sighed and told Chad the events that took place five weeks ago, "He said that when the mark turns black that I will fight the darkness for control."

Chad was staring at Owen but didn't look surprised, "That time looks like it will happen soon." The mark on Owen's chest looked like a dark bruise, "Will you be ready?"

Owen paused for a minute, "Fate said that a flip of a coin could tell you as much as he knew." Chad just sat there and had the look of knowing in his eyes, _What does he know? Did I tell him what to expect in the future?_, Owen shook his head, "Come on, don't we have to see a seamstress?"

As Owen got up and turned for the door Chad grabbed his arm, "When you face the darkness, if you lose your body, don't lose your mind."

Owen turned to face Chad, "If you know something say it." Chad looked away, Owen saw a pang of regret in his eyes.

Chad stayed silent for a long time, "I'll tell you what you told me, I cannot tell you of anything that will happen in your future for fear that the fragile existence of time may shatter." Chad pushed his was past Owen and whispered in his ear, "Some things are meant to happen for a reason, no matter how bad they are." Chad walked past Owen and out of the door. Leaving Owen to ponder on what he said.

_When did I tell him that? _Owen thought to himself before following Chad.

__

Steve was surrounded by a black void but he could still see he hands and the rest of himself as if it were bright. Steve heard a clanking sound and the floor began to glow forming the image of the circle with all the lines and shapes in it that was in the ritual chamber, he stood in the center of it. A tall thin man around Steve's age came into view at the edge of the circle, he was holding a staff, using it as a walking stick. Every time the staff hit the floor it made the clanking sound, it was at that time that Steve realized that he wasn't holding the white rod Hector gave him.

Steve studied the teen, he was tall, taller than Steve at least. He had white hair that gave his young face the appearance of wisdom and had dark blue eyes that showed kindness. He wore a dark blue robe that was split all the way down the front, lighter blue runes decorated the trim on the edge of the divide down to the floor. The robe had long sleeves that was bigger at the wrist and got smaller the closer they got to the shoulder, they seemed to rest easily on his forearms, the robe also had a split in the back that went from the waist down. At the edges of the robe, except the center split, was trimmed with the color of the runes. Under the robe he wore equally dark blue pants, the pant legs were baggy, that lead down to dark blue knee high boots with the lighter blue shoelaces. He wore a plane plain blue tunic with lighter blue trim, Steve noticed that he had a strap with a buckle across his chest that lead down to a brown bag that rested on his left hip. Despite his frail appearance, he actually was quite muscular.

The teen stopped a pace away from Steve, he studied Steve and smiled, "Greetings." his voice sounded laid back but rebellious, young but wise, but it sounded similar to Steve's. "I take it you are here because the mages are putting you though the Shaping." He spoke in Vetus Lingua. "Well say something."

Steve spoke in Latin as he was told, "May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Lan of the Blue mages, Lan is also your name." Lan said, "I am what you were meant to be, and what you will become. I am you and you are me, but we are both separate people."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"They don't call it the Shaping for nothing, your appearance will change into the one you see before you." Lan held out his arms as if displaying himself, "Most mages don't make it though the Shaping because they don't want to give up there image."

Steve swallowed hard, "What will happen to me?"

Lan chuckles, "You will still be you, but you may become something like me. I am open minded and try to see the brighter side of life." Lan got real serious, "But I also know when duty calls and when I am needed. You will take your true name and cast aside your birth name, for you have been reborn." Lan slammed the staff between them, "Not grab your staff and awaken your true self."

Steve was hesitant and studied the staff, it was a little shorter than Lan and was made out of a blue metal. At the top of the staff was a circle about six inches across, an inch of blue steel surrounded a large light blue gem. The gem was a disk that caught the light and refracted it with its many edges. Runes adorned the circle of steel on both sided. Steve grabbed the staff and felt two minds become one, he woke to a white flash.

__

Jas found Cynder in her room, "Cynder, I just wanted to apologize for this morning. I had no right to speak like that."

"Its alright Jas, I have thought about it and maybe you were right." Cynder sounded not as depressed, "I will talk to Spyro tomorrow."

"So your going to the Ball?" Jas asked.

Cynder nodded, "I think it will brighten up my spirits."

"I'm glad you think so." Jas smiled, "And your probably right."

"Me too." Cynder said, "I just hope that he will forgive me."

Jas put a hand on her shoulder, "Of course he will. Now come on, we'll find something nice for you to wear." Despite Cynder's protest Jas finally convinced Cynder to come with her, "Its to bad that Steve couldn't come to the Ball with his mage training and all. He liked going to parties."

__

Steve was laying face down on the ground. He pushed himself up and noticed that he was back in the ritual chamber, he heard mumbling and whispering from the mages in the room.

Hector spoke up noticing that Steve was getting up, "Tell us, what is this one called?" He spoke in Vetus Lingua.

Steve stood up and noticed that he was holding Lan's staff, he used the crystal in the staff as a mirror and saw Lan's face on every side of the crystal, this was his face. Steve looked at himself and he was wearing Lan's cloths, he then looked up at Hector who nodded to Steve. Steve was no longer his name, in Vetus Lingua he said with a smile, "I am Lan of the Blue mages."

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**I had to speed things up, although I planed on doing so anyways. So Steve is now Lan but may be referred to as Steve for the next few chapters. Next chapter out soon.**


	22. Chapter 22

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 22: The Ball**

The next morning everyone met in the dinning hall for breakfast, Owen was, not surprisingly, late. On the other hand Steve was surprisingly missing. When Ty brought it up, no one has seen him since yesterday morning. The door opened and a white haired male teen walked in, Ty thought that it was Axel at first but this person didn't were the mask Axel always wore and besides that this person was actually smiling. He was holing a staff with a blue gem on top of it, he sat down at the table as if he was welcomed.

"And who might you be?" Evan asked, the stranger sat across from him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Lan." Lan laughed, "This just feels weird."Jas leaned forward, "What, what does?" Lan's presence felt familiar but she couldn't figure out why.

"I would have warned you in advance, but Hector moved the Shaping to yesterday.

Jas gasped, "Steve, is that you." Lan nodded, "What did they do to you?"

"I went through the Shaping, but what they were shaping was me." Lan laughed, "You should see the look on all of your faces."

Owen walked in half dragging his feet and sat down next to Lan. Owen rubbed the sleepiness away from his eyes, he looked over to Lan, "Who is this guy?"

Chad, who sat next to Owen, said, "That is Steve, believe it or not."

Owen took another look at Lan, "I might be more surprised if I was fully awake." Owen began eating a piece of bread, "So what exactly happened Steve?" he asked Lan.

Lan shook his head, "I'm not Steven anymore. I am now called Lan of the Blue mages."

Owen chuckled, "You'll have to forgive me if I still call you Steve."

Ty spoke up, "I think that goes for all of us." everyone agreed with Ty.

Once everyone quieted down Jas asked, "So what happens now?"

"Now?" Lan asked, "Now I continue with my training, but today Headmaster gave me a day off to get use to my new body."

"And how is that working out for you?" Spyro asked.

Lan scratched his head, "Well this morning I stubbed my toe on the dresser, hit my hand on the door trying to reach for the doorknob, and I tripped over my own legs walking down the hall."

"Not good then I take it?" Spyro asked wincing.

"Are you kidding me?" Lan laughed, "I feel the best that I have ever felt in, well, ever."

The door opened again and Ace walked in, "Is everyone here." Ace looked around and saw Lan, "Who's this?"

Jas answered, "Steven, err…I mean Lan."

"Ah, then the Shaping was a success? "Ace asked.

Lan shrugged his shoulders, "Better that others."

"Your lucky then." Ace congratulated Lan, "I just came to see who was coming tonight so I can add you on the guest list." Everyone said that they were going and Ace's face lit up, "I'm glad that you all will be attending. If you don't have anything to wear you can go see the seamstress."

"A word of advice," Owen began, "don't squirm or she'll stab you with needles." everyone got a good laugh out of that one. "When does the Ball start?" Owen asked Ace.

"This afternoon." Ace replied, "So you'll have plenty of time do get ready." Ace then exited the dinning room.

Kim shot up and started tugging on her brothers arm, "Come on, we have to get you fitted."

"I'm not going to be sewed up like a rag doll." Ty said pulling his arm away.

"Why not? You have nothing to wear." Kim protested, Ty groaned and let Kim drag him out of the door.

Owen yawned and grabbed two apple, "This has been an eventful morning." He took a bite out of one and left the room. Everyone talked for awhile, mainly about Lan, and soon went their separate ways.

__

It was starting to get late and Owen decided that he should be getting ready. Owen had asked Boe if he wanted to come, but when Boe asked if there was a catch Owen said that Boe would need a bath and his coat brushed. Boe was not happy with that so he declined the offer. Owen opened his dresser and put on the tan dress pants that the seamstress insisted that he should take. Just as he got his belt on he heard a knocking at the door, "Come in." Owen said pulling his white shirt over his head, the sleeves were loose and it had lace on the collar and cuffs of the sleeves. Jas walked in, she was wearing a black and blue dress that was wide from the hips down and made it look like Jas glided when she walked, you couldn't see her feet. She wore a bodice that supported her bosom and made it more pronounced. She wore black gloves that went up to her elbow.

"Hey, are you almost ready?" Jas asked coyly.

Owen stood mouth agape, "You…you look amazing."

Jas smile, "I got something for you." She handed Owen a small box.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Open it and you'll find out." Jas urged Owen.

Owen opened the box to reveal a belt buckle with a wolves head engraved on it, "What is this for?"

"It's a present silly." Jas the gasped, "You didn't forget your own birthday did you?"

Owen laughed, "I guess I did." Owen looked at the belt buckle with regret.

"You don't like it?" Jas asked.

Owen shook his head, "No, it's a great gift, its just that…" Owen sighed, "I was just thinking about how long we have been here."

Jas sat down on Owen's bed, "Now that you mention it, we have bee here for some time. But lets not think about it now, it will put a damper on tonight's event."

"Your right, lets forget about it." Owen put on his off-white vest with brown trim and gold embroidery and tightened the laces on the front and tied them off. He tied his boots and hid a hunting knife inside his boot, for emergencies. Jas admitted that she was wearing her staff sheath under her dress. Owen put on the belt buckle that Jas gave him and combed his hair, he held out his hand, "Ready?" he asked and Jas took his hand, "We should wish Chad happy birthday when we see him next." They hooked arms and continued to the Ballroom.

As they entered the Ballroom a thin man standing over a podium with a book on it asked, "Names please."

Jas answered first before Owen got a chance to speak, "Jasmine Sayge." The man moved his finger through the book and put a check in the book.

"And you sir?" The man asked.

"Prince Owen." Owen replied.

The man snorted, "I just dealt with someone who said that, I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to leave."

Owen held up his right hand and a white flame appeared, "Need I say more?"

The man's face turned pale, "Please forgive me, I didn't expect it you be you. I just…oh please forgive me Prince Owen."

"Its really no trouble." Owen said, "Just don't make that mistake again."

"Yes sir, quite right sir, sorry for the trouble sir." The man was frantic.

"Carry on." Owen replied as he and Jas walked past him.

"You handled that quite well." Jas whispered.

Owen sniffed, "Father says to treat those who question you with respect but be firm when dealing with them." The Ball room was quite large, capable for holding several hundred people, the room was shaped in a semi oval with the a wall behind them and the rest of the room forming a half oval, windows were all along the half oval. In the center of the room was an uprising that formed a stage, there were instruments of all kinds and everyone had someone attending to them. The most surprising one was a grand piano, "Looks like that's the entertainment. I don't suppose there is a drum set among them." Jas giggled at Owen's joke, Owen didn't think that it was funny. There wasn't that many people in the Ballroom at the moment and those who were there were mostly waiters carrying silver platters with food and drinks.

Ace came walking over to them, "I see that you made it."

"I wouldn't miss it." Jas replied.

"I was drafted." Owen said.

"Oh come on, it will be fun." Jas said giving him a nudge.

Ace was wearing a gold and burgundy shirt and equally colorful pants, on his left shoulder he wore a gold shoulder cape with a white bird with outstretched wings embroidered on it. Owen made a note to ask him about it later. "Be sure to greet the nobles as they come in." Ace then walked off, probably looking for Chad.

"So you have to play meet and greet?" Jas asked.

Owen scratched the back of his head, "It is to show respect, don't ask me how I am suppose to know all of them."

A young man no older than Owen dressed as one of the waiters walked up to him and said, "Good evening Prince Owen, my name is Arnold, I will be your personal attendant for tonight. You need not worry about me following you all night, just snap your fingers and I will be by your side in a heartbeat." He either sounded eager or nervous, "And may I say that you and this young madam here look dashing tonight. I will take my leave, unless either of you request something." eager, he definitely sounded eager.

"I am fine for now thank you." Owen replied with a tone of authority in his voice, "Do you need anything?" Owen asked Jas.

Jas shook her head, "No, I'm fine."

"You may leave us," Owen addressed Arnold, "you will be summoned when needed."

"As you wish," Arnold began and bowed to Owen, "Prince Owen, Miss…Miss, you'll have to forgive me, I don't know your name."

Jas smiled and said, "Jasmine Sayge."

"Ah, I should have guessed." Arnold bowed to Owen and Jas respectively and departed.

"A personal waiter, that's classy." Jas said with a smile.

Owen sighed, "Lets just hope I won't need to call him to often."

Owen and Jas waited near the door trying to make it look like they weren't waiting. The first one who they met was Chad who wore similar cloths to Owen, except that he wore a black shirt and pants and his vest was a dark grey embroidered with gold string, the gold chain necklace that had a crystal cross that once belong to an Order agent that posed as Chad's mother when he was young, but was unfortunately killed, was barely visible. When Jas brought it up Owen hastily changed the subject and told her that he would tell her later. Chad joined Owen and Jas, another waiter introduced himself to Chad and gave a similar speech to Arnold's. Owen and Jas wished Chad a happy birthday and Chad denied it saying that it wasn't anywhere near his, they decided to talk about it after tonight. To Owen and Jas's surprise, they saw Evan walking in with Kim. Evan wore mostly brown and Kim wore a black dress, she used a headband to hold down her wolfs ears. Ty was close behind them, he wore more or less a grey trench coat that had a wolf's head embroidered in a darker grey string on the right of the buttons near the collar. Ty also wore a wide brimmed grey hat, to cover his ears, and a grey tunic and pants underneath.

Nobles started to arrive; dragon's, human's, and elves' alike, and Owen, Chad, and Jas began the long task of greeting the nobles, some mages were among them. When Owen said that Jas didn't have to stay Jas nearly boxed his ears, she even used the term "box your ears", so that was the end of the discussion. Owen then realized that Jas was living one of her dreams, going to a Royal Ball with a prince. When the Ballroom started to fill music started to play, surprisingly, he could hear it quite clearly despite the distance. Lan arrived much later wearing his blue mages robes that he wore this morning that he acquired at the Shaping and carrying his staff. Spyro came when the Ballroom was over half full, He wore a purple cape that matched his scales, on the cape was a circle embroidered with the four elements; fire, ice, electricity, and earth. His wings were neatly tucked under the cape. Owen saw capes worn by similar dragons, except they matched the color of their scales and has there house emblem on them. Most of the nobles were shocked by the color of Owen's eyes, if not at least a little surprised. Cynder was one of the last people to arrive, she wore a plain crimson cape that matched the scales of her underbelly.

"Cynder, glad to see you made it." Jas said excitedly.

Cynder walked over to them, "I couldn't miss this." Cynder looked past them, "Excuse me for a moment."

"Take your time." Owen said.

The man that was at the podium came over to Owen, Jas, and Chad, "I was told to tell you when a majority of the guests arrived. You may now go mingle among the guests" The Ballroom had a lot of people in it, but it was not completely full.

"Thank you." Owen said, "I will tell father that you did your job well." The man walked back over to his podium. "Now that that's over with." Owen snapped his fingers twice, Arnold appeared out of the crowd, "I am quite parched, I would like something to drink. Will you have something as well?" Owen asked Jas.

"Yes please." Jas replied.

Arnold bowed, "I will return shortly." He returned after a short time with two glasses of dark red wine on a silver platter and then left.

Jas looked at her glass sourly, "I didn't know that he would bring wine."

Owen took a sip from his, "It isn't that strong at all. It tastes good but doesn't have much alcohol in it." He leaned in and whispered to Jas, "You know, so the nobles won't get drunk."

Jas looked at her glass, "If you insist." It did taste quite good, it was sweet and tasted like black cherry. Owen and Jas emptied their glasses and Arnold came to get them, Owen didn't even snap his fingers.

Owen pointed to the stage, Ace was on it, he was wearing a black collar of some kind, "I wanted to thank everyone for coming." His voice echoed throughout the Ballroom and was heard clearly, Owen wondered why, "I hope that you all enjoyed tonight and that you all will forgive my absence these past years."

The Ballroom was dead silent, not that far from Owen and Jas was heard, "All hale King Benjamin! All hail the King!" They recognized it at Lan. They then heard Evan answer the call, then Ty. Eventually the Ballroom repeated what Lan said until it grew into a chant.

Once they quieted down Ace spoke again, "Your forgiveness is most welcome. I will promises that I will do my duty as King and I will not fail you." The chant started up again and then died down, music started playing and Ace stepped down from the stage handing the black collar to the singer on the stage.

Owen snapped his fingers and Arnold appeared, "What can I get for you?"

"Nothing, can you answer a question thought?" Owen asked.

"Why most certainly." Arnold replied.

"How were we able to hear father so clearly?" Owen asked, Jas nodded in agreement.

Arnold looked surprised, "Well the collar Kin Benjamin wore is enchanted, it makes ones voice louder without putting the strain on it. A similar enchantment is put on the instrument."

Owen rubbed his chin in thought, "Interesting, thank you, that will be all for now." Arnold bowed and disappeared into the crowd.

Jas nudged Owen, "Look who's on the piano."

Owen looked up and saw Chad playing the piano, "I didn't know he played."

"There is a lot we don't know about him." Jas giggled.

Owen looked back up at his brother, Chad was smiling, obviously enjoying himself, "He is good, there is doubt about that." Owen bowed and grabbed Jas's hand, "May I have this dance?"

Jas smiled, "You may."

__

Kim was enjoying herself, Evan's dancing was different that what she was use to, but she was still enjoying herself. The song ended and Kim was out of breath, they sat down at the edge of the Ballroom on some chairs that were set up. "Thank you for taking me." She said to Evan, "I am having a lot of fun."

"No problem." Evan replied, "Thanks for coming with me."

Kim smiled and leaned on his shoulder. Kim had fallen for allot of men before, but something was different about Evan. It wasn't the fact that he was strong, or brave, or that he had a cute face, something else attracted Kim to Evan. She couldn't place her finger on it.

A woman with blonde hair in a yellow dress walked up to them, "Excuse me young sir, would you care to dance."

Kim tightened her grip on Evan's arm, "No he would not."

The woman gave and amused laugh, "And who might you be? I don't recognize you as one of the nobles. Just keep quiet and we won't have any trouble."

Kim growled softly, "Evan, go get us something to drink."

Evan leaned in and whispered to Kim, "Try and not to make a scene." Evan got up and disappeared into the crowd.

"Who do you think you are?" Kim asked demandingly while standing up, "Where do you get off?"

The woman spoke up in a tone of authority, "I am Catharine Arcaro, heir to the Arcaro fortune. I am also one of the few women in the Order of the Dragon." Catharine raised and eyebrow, "Who are you."

"I am Evan's date, that is all you have to know." Kim said a bit annoyed.

Catharine sniffed, "A lowly commoner no doubt. I should have you thrown out, how did you get in? Did you scale the wall, or did you crawl through the sewer?"

Kim was turning red from frustration, "My father is friends with Ace."

"How dare you speak of the King in such a disrespecting manner." Catharine scolded Kim.

"The only one disrespecting here is you Miss Arcaro." To Kim's relief Ace was standing behind Catharine with his arms crossed and apparently not pleased.

Catharine turned around wide eyed, "King Benjamin! I was just disciplining this girl for being rude to you."

Ace's face was hard, "I don't like it when people harass my friends, especially my friends children. You remember Cyrus? This is his daughter." Ace nodded to Kim and she removed her head band, her wolf ears popped up and twitched with amusement.

"This is Cyrus's child?" Catharine said in shock, "I beg for forgiveness, I…I didn't know."

"I hope you won't cause anymore trouble." Ace demanded rather that asked, not waiting for a reply Ace said to Kim, "You don't have to hide what you are, your father was a good man. He earned more respect that most nobles." Ace gave a hard stare at Catharine before moving back into the crowd.

Catharine turned to Kim when Ace disappeared from sight, "You may be his daughter, but you have no authority over me. I saw what happened yesterday, the castle tower, I want that boy and I always get what I want." Catharine touched Kim on the nose with her pointer finger, Kim got an unpleasant zap, "Remember that." Catharine then stomped off into the crowd.

Evan came back with two glasses of wine, Kim was rubbing her nose, "Your not wearing your headband?" Evan handed her a glass.

Kim stared at her glass, "Ace said that it was ok." and she left it at that.

__

Ty was leaning up against a wall without windows on it, he was trying not to draw attention to himself. He had asked many of the nobles about Cyrus and only got what he knew, he was a werewolf who was captain of the Royal Guards and was respected around the nobles. He was no better off than where he was. Ty touched where he had hidden his fathers dagger under his coat and a pang of despair came to him, _Who are you? Why did you leave us? Was it because of us?_, he shook his head and disregarded the last thought.

A girl a few years younger than Ty with red curls walked up to him like so many have before her, "Would you like to dance."

Ty looked up, "I'm sorry, I'm not a good dancer."

"I can teach you, come on it will be fun." The girl insisted.

"I hate to break this up, but I have to talk to him first." The room felt a little colder, Axel stood nest to Ty. He wore what he usually wore, except that his shirt had sleeves, he still wore that blue mask, "It should only take a minute."

The girl gave a weak smile and walked away, "What do you want?" Ty asked, "I didn't expect you here?"

"You should be training." Axel said coldly.

"I am looking for information about my father." Ty replied, "He was the captain of the guards and very talented, he could train us to become stronger."

Axel gave a cold laugh, "You waste your time, loved ones only weigh you down, your better off not looking for him."

Ty was shocked, could Axel be that cold, "I am doing what I think wise as you told me to do."

"You waste a day of training for a lost cause." Axel replied coldly.

"Are you really that heartless." Ty asked. Axel turned to leave, "Answer me."

Axel stopped, "I have no heart, it was torn from me that dreadful day." Axel didn't use specifics as to not pass the curse onto a person that was harmlessly listening, "My soul has been hardened and my emotions crushed."

Ty stood there for awhile then asked, "Was it worth it?"

Axel paused and face Ty, "Even though you are helping me you don't know my pain, you never will." Axel turned, "Go, enjoy yourself, waste time on trivial events and emotions. Enjoy them while you still draw breath." Axel walked out of the Ballroom and Ty breathed a sigh of relief.

"So now that you are done talking, do you want to dance?" The girl with the red curls was right by his side and it made Ty jump.

_What happened to him? Is it possible to lose yourself like that_, Ty thought. He turned to the girl and grinned, she was cute, _What's the harm in one dance?_, "Sure, why not. I have to warn you that I really am a bad dancer."

The girl smiled and grabbed his hand leading him into the crowd. They past a group of girls who giggled as he past and whispered to each other. "Don't mind them, they are just jalousie." they seemed like they were laughing because someone finally got him to dance.

**----------**

**I once again had to cut this chapter short because it was getting a little lengthy. Next Chapter out soon.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 23: Broken heart**

Lan was talking idly with Owen and Jas, "And that is all I can tell you about the Shaping."

"Sounds painful." Owen cringed, "So you didn't feel anything at all Stev…I mean Lan."

"I did lose feeling for a little bit but that was all." Lan was holding his staff in the crook of his arm. Lan felt a slight poking in his back and whipped around holding his staff out ready to use if necessary. Behind him he saw a young man with red hair in red robes that had a fire design on them. He held a black staff with a red pointed crystal on top of it. Lan lowered his staff, "It is just you Ken."

"Surprised?" Ken said with a smile, "Just seeing how you were doing in all with your Shaping. Your quite a wonder, you managed to get your Shaping within one month of joining."

Lan ginned, "It was actually a little over a month, but who's counting."

"You for one." Ken paused, "I wonder how long until Hector decides your ready for a Familiar."

"Not for some time I suppose." Lan paused, "Forgive me, you must think terrible of me, let me introduce you to my friends." Lan stepped aside and Ken stepped forward, Ken was about as tall a Lan, "This, as you may know is Owen, King Benjamin's son. We grew up in the same town in our realm."

Owen nodded his head, "A pleasure to meet you."

"And this is Jasmine." Lan gestured to Jas, "We also grew up in the same town."

Jas curtsied, "Nice to meet you."

Lan gestured to Ken, "This is my friend from the University, Kenneth, most people just call him Ken. He went through his Shaping a week after a met him."

Ken bowed, "It is so good to finally meet you two, Lan has told me so much about you both."

"So tell us about yourself Ken." Jas said holding onto Owen's arm.

"There is not much to tell about me. I was once in the Order of the Dragon until it was discovered that I could use magic and was sent off to the University." Ken said with a grin, "Usually members of the Order use dragon magic, but I for some reason could use other magic. Hector thought it was because my magical essence was so strong, he is still not entirely sure." Ken bowed, "I am sorry to cut this conversation short but I have things to attend to." Ken then left.

"So he can still turn into a dragon?" Owen asked.

Lan nodded, "He was the biggest oddity in the University, that is, until I showed up."

"What do you mean?" Jas asked.

Lan smiled, "I can cast more powerful spells than most mages could using the same words."

"I don't think I understand." Owen said.

"For example, Attonitus means stun, if a person at the level of mage that I am now cast the spell it may stop you for a few minutes, or less. If I on the other hand would cast the spell it would completely immobilize a person for hours if not days." Lan paused, "I still use an equivalent amount of mana when I cast the spell. Hector believes this is because I had the essence while on Earth and the power was building inside me and when I came here it was amplified and awakened. One of the main reasons I went through the Shaping so quickly is so I could get my staff."

Owen pointed to Lan's staff, "What is so special about it?"

Lan looked at his staff and smiled, "It can help me concentrate my spells and lets me use up less mana, this helps me cast the same power of spells but without taking up so much mana. It also can help me cast more powerful spells that I normally couldn't. Hector believes that this will help me learn how to control spells better, he says that soon I could control it without the staffs help." Lan laughed, "If you think about it, the staff is more symbolic than anything."

"Ken seemed eager to leave." Jas said.

Lan frowned, "He has been jealous of me since I went through the Shaping. He has been avoiding me, except now. Mages can say one thing and it could have a deeper meaning or mean another thing entirely." Lan paused, "What he said about Hector, I can tell by his tone that he was trying to make a point to me."

"What makes you say that? He sounded like he was making idle conversation." Jas said.

"It is different, when you're a mage you pick up on these things." Lan tried to explain.

Owen nodded, "I could hear it, if only just barely."

"I think he may be holding grudge against me." Lan sounded uneasy.

__

Evan was sitting down resting, Kim really could tire a guy out, he was watching her from afar. Kim was talking to some girls who thought that her ears were 'to cute'. Evan was just glad he could rest his feet. She was standing near the door to the gardens. A couple of guy's around Evan's age came up and started to flirt with the girls, he recognized them from training. One in particular was Paul, Evan and Paul were sort of rivals, in reality Paul was just trying to prove he was tougher than Evan. Evan was immune to all but magic so that was hard to beat. Paul and the other Order trainees were starting to get a little to frisky with the girls, they started to force them out into the gardens. Evan got up and quickly made his way after them.

Evan looked around the gardens and couldn't see them. Evan heard a scream and hade his way towards it. Evan made his way past the green wall of shrubberies and saw the Order trainees frisking the girls, some of the girls were half undressed. To Evan's relief Kim still was dressed, she was not going down without a fight but he didn't know how long she could keep it up.

"Evan just in time." Paul said to Evan, he was one of the ones trying to get their way with Kim, "This one is spunky, mind giving us a hand." Some of the girls were crying.

"Just what the hell do you think you guys are doing?" Evan demanded.

Paul walked up to Evan handing Kim over to another guy, "I'm doing what ever the hell I want, that's what." Paul smelt heavy of alcohol, which was surprising considering the wine wasn't that strong, "What are you going to do about it."

"I am going to ask you nicely to leave them alone." there were six girls, including Kim, and nine of the Order trainees, including Paul. Evan knew at least four of them could use there element while they were human, _I have to be careful about this_.

"Oh yea? And what are you going to d about it." Paul shoved Evan.

One of the men was getting to frisky with one of the girls, who was begging him to stop. _I have to act now, no time to think it out, _Evan thought. Evan turned to Paul, "I'm going to do something drastic." Evan punched Paul in the gut and pushed him to the side. Before any of the trainees knew what was going on Steve punched the guy getting to frisky with the girl knocking him out. Steve would always pull his punches in training because he was becoming stronger from that metal orb Fate had given him, not this time, Evan wanted them to hurt. The others noticed that Evan was attacking them and drew belt knives and daggers abandoning their hostages.

"Go run." Evan said to the girls, some of them ran, others curled up in a ball from being violated. Evan had to get them out of here, "Kim get the girls out of here, make sure there safe." Someone lunged at Evan and bent his knife as it hit him, Evan grabbed his arm and threw him at the other trainees. "Kim go!" Kim gathered the girls and moved them away. The trainees looked at the crumpled knife on the ground and moved uneasily, "If you don't want to fight leave, and if you ever touch a woman that isn't your wife you'll wish you were far worse then dead when I'm though with you." Two of them threw down their knives and ran, one of them Evan knew could use his element in his human form.

Paul got up and groaned, "Where are you going you pansies! Its just one man, he is not indestructible."

Evan smiled, "Funny story about that…"

"Shut up!" Paul yelled, "You ruined tonight, ruined it! I will get you for this."

Two of them charged at Evan trying to stab him, Evan let them to try and scare them, to show them that knives were useless. He punched one in the face and used his body to throw it into the other. That was two down, four to go. Evan saw sparks on ones fingertips and Evan dropped to the ground, lightning passed over him and hit a guy who's fingers had fire on them knocking him out. _These guys are defiantly drunk_, Evan thought. He didn't waste any time, Evan lunged at the one who cast lightning and tackled him to the ground and punched him unconscious. Evan got up and faced the last guy cracking his knuckles, the trainee threw his knife down and ran. Evan counted the unconscious and noticed one was missing. The next thing Evan knew he felt like he was hit by a ton of bricks ad was on the ground, Evan was in pain.

Paul was standing over Evan with wild fury in his eyes, "I'm going to kill you."

Evan rolled on his back, _I have to do something or I'm done for_. Evan with all of his might spun his legs around and knocked Paul off of his feet. Evan pushed himself up despite the pain but Paul got up first. Paul kicked Evan down and hit him directly with an earth shot, Evan coughed up blood and felt several broken bones.

"I told you I was going to kill you." Paul said with an air of success in his voice.

The next thing Evan saw was a brown blur tackle Paul. A large brown wolf that used it hind paws as legs and its front as hands stood over Paul and growled holding Paul by the scruff of the shirt. Paul struggled and the wolf threw Paul a couple of yards away, Paul scrambled to his feet and ran. The werewolf walked over to Evan and whimpered, the wolf turned into the familiar shape of Kim. Tears were rolling down her face.

"Evan are you ok?" Kim asked sadly.

Evan tried to respond but only coughed up blood.

Kim cried even more, "Your hurt." Kim cried and then said, "Wait here I'll go find Ace, he'll heal you like he did Big Brother." Kim ran off to the Ballroom.

Evan closed his eyes, he felt cold.

__

Ace was conversing with Lan, "And that is how I Hector and I first met."

"Interesting," Lan started, "I'll have to ask him if he still has the scar."

Out of the crowd Kim pushed her way through with tears streaming down her face, she grabbed Ace's arm, "You have to come quickly. Evan got in a fight and he is baldy hurt."

Ace put both hands on Kim's shoulders, "Calm down, tell me what happened."

Kim sobbed trying to calm down, "Some of the boys from training were drunk and started to force me and some other girls outside. They started undressing some and Evan came in and saved us. One of the boys, Paul I think his name was, hit Evan with stones and I managed to get Paul away from Evan, but now Evan is outside and he is in pain."

"Take me to him." Ace turned to Lan, "Come with us, I may need you." Kim lead Ace and Lan outside to Evan. When they got outside Ace gasped, and whispered, "Sweet Ancestor's, how is he still alive?" Ace bent down and examined Evan, he was still breathing, just barely though, "Lan come over here." Lan knelt down on the other side of Evan, "How good is your healing?"

"Not very." Lan looked a his staff regretfully, "I can however cast strong simple healing."

"Good, that could make all of the difference." Ace said, Ace stretched out this arms over Evan, "Are you ready?" Lan held his staff over Evan, the crystal was over Evan's chest, Lan nodded. Ace's hands began to glow with a white light and it shined onto Evan in a beam as big as Ace's hand, he was speaking in a strange tongue, it sounded like death if that were possible. Lan was also speaking in a strange language, he was speaking in Vetus Lingua although Lan knew it a Latin. Evan's skin began to move as bone melded back together and flesh became whole.

Kim could smell death on Evan and she fell to her knees, _He can't be dead_, she thought, _He just can't be dead_. She thought back to when they fell out of the tower. Ace swore in his strange tongue and Steve had the look of frustration and sadness on his face. After a few minutes the glow around Ace's hands stopped and Lan soon removed his staff from above Evan.

Ace got up and looked at Kim with a remorseful look, "I…I'm sorry, we did everything we could."

Lan was standing and held an outstretched arm over Evan, "Sileo in pacis meus amicus." 'Rest in peace my friend.' "Vestri animus reperio tutus obduco." 'Your soul find safe passage.' Lan turned to Kim and placed a hand on her solder, he spoke calmly, "I tried my hardest…He was a good friend and a good person." Lan turned, a single tear rolled down his face and that was all Lan cried although he wanted to cry more in the loss of his friend.

Kim knelt over Evan's lifeless body, "How could you die? Of all people, how could you die?" Kim collapsed on Evan's chest and began to weep, Ace and Lan were still there, she did not care. Let them watch if the wanted. Kim felt a heartbeat, although faint, Kim stopped crying and listened. She felt another one then another, they started coming faster and faster. Evan shot up and gasped for air, Evan held his chest from the pain of not having air in them for so long. "Evan?" Kim asked in disbelief, Kim threw her arms around him, "I thought you died."

Evan was surprised and then wrapped his arms around her, "I thought so to."

Ace and Lan hurried to ether side of Evan and gently lifted him up, Evan's legs felt weak, "Take it easy now, you may feel weak." Ace said.

Evan looked at Lan and Ace, "You two brought me back didn't you?"

Lan shook his head, his look was serious but behind it was a concerned friend, "Ace and I healed you but…but we did not bring you back." Lan smiled, "Your lady friend did that."

Evan looked towards Kim, "Thank you, for everything."

"But I got you hurt." Kim pleaded.

Evan gave a weak chuckle, "No that was my fault, I should have gotten help."

Ace spoke up, "You did the right thing. Now do you know where the ones who were…harassing…the girls are."

Evan gave another weak chuckle, "Most of them are at you feet, I think two or three ran, Paul…I don't know what happened to him." Evan tried standing on his own two feet, "I can stand by myself now."

Ace and Lan slowly let go and Evan stumbled, Kim got up by Evan and caught him, "I got you." she smiled at him.

"Thanks." Evan said smiling back, "Lets just keep this between the four of us, no need to worry the others." The others agreed and made their way back top the Ballroom, Evan was slightly using Kim for support, she didn't mind.

__

Owen sat down to rest, Jas was dancing in one of those Ballroom circles where everyone exchanges partners every minute. Owen had purposely sat next to Spyro, "So have you talked to her yet?"

Spyro shook his head, "No, I…I don't think I can."

"Oh come now," Owen started, "You saved the world and killed the most powerful being on the planet, don't tell me you are afraid of talking to a girl." Owen was going to get Spyro and Cynder back together one way or another.

"I am not!" Spyro protested, "It's just that she…"

"She loves you and you love her." Owen interrupted, "Now go and find her so you two can be back together again."

Spyro thought for awhile, "Owen I…"

"I don't want to here it unless you are going to go to here." Owen said tossing his hands into the air.

"Would you let me talk!" Spyro said loudly, Owen shrugged, "It is not that I can't talk to her, it is what I will say to her. I am at a loss, I don't know what to tell her."

Owen sighed, "Just tell her how you feel about her, there is not much else you can say." Owen looked over and saw Cynder talking to Evan, Kim, Ace, and Lan, Evan was leaning on Kim for some reason, "Now go over and talk to her." Owen pointed to Cynder.

Spyro sighed, "Here goes nothing."

Owen called after Spyro with a grin on his face, "Better do more than nothing."

__

Spyro was walking over to Cynder. Evan, Ace, Lan, and Kim left, _Good, that will make this a little easier_, Cynder looked at Spyro and the looked away. Spyro swallowed the lump in his throat, _Here I go_, Spyro stepped in front of Cynder, "Hi."

"Hi." Cynder replied, she would not look at him.

"Cynder, I…I am sorry." Cynder looked at him confused, "I shouldn't have been avoided you. I…I don't care what happens to us, I love you."

Cynder looked away from Spyro, "I love you to." Cynder sounded sad, "Spyro we can't be together."

Spyro was shocked, "Why not?"

"I…I can't tell you." Cynder started to walk out into the gardens.

"Cynder!" Spyro called after her, she kept on walking. Spyro ran out after her, "Cynder! Cynder wait." Spyro caught up to Cynder, "What's the matter?"

"I…I can't tell you." Cynder said sadly.

"Why not?" Spyro asked.

_I have to tell him that I'm leaving, no matter how painful it is_. Cynder thought to herself, "Spyro, I…I am…" Her throat tightened.

Cynder started to cry softly, Spyro walked up next to her and wiped her tears away, "Cynder, what's the matter? Why are you crying?"

"Spyro, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me." Cynder was crying, but not sobbing, "I love more than anyone else could, you make me feel special." Cynder embraced Spyro, "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

Spyro warped his wings around Cynder, "I know how you feel, I wouldn't want to live a moment of my life without you." Spyro thought back to when he talked to Owen, "I…I don't know if either of us will live a full life, but I would rather spend that time with the one I love in that time. Cynder, I want to spend it with you."

Cynder rested her head on Spyro's shoulder, "I…I want that too."

"I'm glad you think that way." Spyro said happily, "Cynder I don't want to lose you again."

Cynder thought to herself, _Is what I'm doing really the right choice? What if I've been wrong all along?_ Cynder pulled away from Spyro and looked into his amethyst eyes, Cynder didn't know what to do. Cynder and Spyro moved in slowly and shared a sensual kiss. Cynder closed her eyes. She did not know how long it lasted but it felt like forever and every moment was wonderful. Cynder and Spyro slowly moved apart, neither wanting it to end. Cynder knew that she wanted Spyro and he wanted her. "Spyro, there is something I have to tell you." Cynder said.

"What? What is it?" Spyro asked eagerly.

Cynder whispered, "Goodbye." Cynder pulled away from Spyro and flew off.

"Cynder!" Spyro called after her, she did not stop or even turn to face him. Spyro's heart collapsed.

---------

**Don't hate me, I tried to recreate the mood when Cynder left in Eternal Night, I think I overdid it. It was hard for me to write this chapter because I didn't want to do the last part, but I had to, you'll find out why latter and then everything will be better. Next chapter out soon, don't abandon me because I broke them up, you might be surprised at what happens and I can promises that I won't disappoint.**


	24. Chapter 24

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 24: Betrayal**

"You go against the code!" The Watcher of Fate was furious.

The Keepers, Watchers, and Meddlers of Fate and Destiny were in the void of gray seated at a round table. The Keeper of Fate said calmly, "The only code I follow is those in the Deal of the Immortals, and I have not broken it"

"Do you have any idea what you have done!" The Watcher of Fate exclaimed, "Now you have set them on a course that cannot be stopped!"

"Calm down brother." The Keeper of Destiny said.

The Watcher of Destiny spoke up, "He has every right to be angry, Brother Keeper has broken the rules…"

"I break the rules that you and Brother Watcher have made." The Keeper of Fate said standing up, "Everyone in this room might abide by them, but I for one never agreed to them. They have no power, they weaken us all and strengthen the Watchers." The Keeper of Fate addressed them all, "What gave any of you the right to separate them in the first place?"

"We have all of the right!" The Watcher of Fate yelled, "It is why we were chosen in the first place!"

The Keeper of Fate shook his head in amusement, "We were chosen to make sure that everything in the world is balanced and to prevent any catastrophes."

"And we were doing just that." The Watcher of Destiny interrupted, "Until you ruined it."

"You Watchers cast aside the Deal of the Immortals and replace them with your own." Fate paced around the table, "Need I remind you that one of the rules set by the deal is not to alter the fate or destiny of those who are not born, you intended just that."

"We are also suppose to prevent destruction by any means necessary." The Keeper of Fate sneered, "Have you forgotten that?"

"I believe that this destruction is an inevitability, it cannot be stopped." The Keeper of Fate looked at the Watcher of Fate, "For all we know you could have been unknowingly trying to destroy the only way to stop it."

The Watcher of Fate stood up, "Your mind is addle, you have been spending to much time around that mortal. What do you intend to gain from him, you have been meeting with him and I intend to know why."

The Keeper of Fate grinned, "You and I can see the same thing, the same fates of every living being. Brother Meddler, what do you think."

The Meddler of Fate had his feet on the table, "I think that Brother Keeper is right, I spent a lot of time looking at the future and from what I can see there is no way to stop it."

The Keeper of Fates grin widened, "You see Brother Watcher, maybe you should do the job you were chosen for and actually watch the fates of mortals instead of trying to become the leader of us all."

A black scimitar appeared in the Watcher of Fates hand, "I'll kill you for that insult." he charged at the Keeper of Fate and the blade stopped dead a mere inch from his face. The Watcher of Fate yelled in frustration, the blade would not touch the Keeper of Fate.

The Keeper of Fate wore a frown, "You cannot kill me." he moved his hand to the blade and it stayed an inch away from him, "You truly have forgotten the Deal if you think you can kill me." The Keeper of Fate moved his hands so the blade went to the ground. "We shall not kill each other for any reason in this world or any other." The Meddlers of Fate and Destiny and the Keeper of Destiny looked at the Watcher of Fate with shock, the Watcher of Destiny just sat in her chair with no readable emotion. "I would like to bring up a vote on Spyro and Cynder.""No!" The Watcher of Fate protested, "I move to counter his." nobody raised there hand in agreement, "You traitors." he snarled.

"I would like to vote on them being reunited." The Keeper of Fate stepped on the Watcher's blade. One by one the other around the table raised their hands, all except the Watchers, "Majority rules, motion carried. I would also like to personally deal with the situation."

"You can't, that is whatthe Meddlers are for." The Watcher of Fate protested.

The Keeper of Fate shook his head, "No, those are your rules. I would like to take a vote." All but the Watchers raised their hands, "Majority rules, motion carried." he stepped off of the Watchers blade, "I move to adjourn this meeting." They took another vote, "Majority rules, motion carried." One by one they faded from the table, the Keeper of Fate looked at the Watcher of Fate, "Remember your place, your rules don't apply." The Watcher of Fate slashed at the Keeper just as he faded from this realm. The Watcher gave a scream of anger before fading to his realm.

__

Nexus was standing on the balcony of his tower, he was looking at the moons, "Good, it is almost full." A Nightwalker silently walked up next to Nexus. "Isn't it magnificent?" before them was an undead army that was on the march.

"It is truly a sight to behold." The Nightwalker answered in a horse voice, "Nothing will be able to stand in your way."

"No it is not!" Nexus barked back, "They are mindless husks, they cannot think for their own." Nexus calmed down, "That is why I called you, I want you to find me generals for my army."

"I will retrieve the finest Nightwalkers in the land." it said hoarsely.

"No! No Nightwalkers!" Nexus walked over to his crystal ball, "Although I will admit that your race is strong, you have one major weakness, light." The Nightwalker hissed, Nexus gave a sinister smile "That is why I want you to find me four specific individuals."

"As my Master commands." The Nightwalker then asked, "Who do you require?"

"I have watched them for several days, I have found some that won't betray me like Chad." Nexus sneered, "They do not have a grudge against my true enemy, but their anger towards his friends will serve just as well." the crystal ball formed the image of a young burly man who was unconscious among shrubs, "He has strong hatred for the one that is the strongest of them." The image changed to a blond woman outside of the castle, "She is jalousie of the swiftest one of them." The crystal ball focused on the image of a red mage, "This one in envious of the one most skilled in magic of them." The image shifted one last time, the image was a young white haired man with a mask covering the lower part of his face. He was in a training yard punching a punching bag, "This one has doubt of the most loyal one of them." Nexus turned to the Nightwalker, "Bring all four of them to me, now." The Nightwalker bowed and disappeared into a shadow. Nexus tuned away from the crystal ball and smiled a wicked smile, "Soon I will have my revenge."

__

Owen walked into the gardens, he saw some young men lying unconscious on the ground, _Must have gotten to drunk_, he thought to himself. Owen walked around and finally found Spyro, alone.

"You were wrong," Spyro began, "we were never meant to be together."

Owen sat down on a stone bench across from Spyro, "What happened? What went wrong?"

"She flew off Owen, she really doesn't love me anymore." Spyro sounded hurt.

Owen leaned forward, "Tell me what happened, everything that happened until she flew away." Spyro told all of the details that happened, and began to break up when he got to the part of her flying away, "Go after her."

"Why?" Spyro asked, "If she wanted to stay with me she would have stayed."

"Spyro, if she didn't love you why did she admit it?" Spyro remained silent, "Why did she kiss you? Spyro, she loves you."

"Why can't you ever mind your own business!" Spyro yelled.

Owen stood up, "It is my business, I…"

"How? How is it your business?" Spyro asked, "You try to help but just made it worse!"

"How is this my fault?"

"You just had to help, maybe we would be together if you never tried to help." Spyro was angry but he was also sad.

Owen was getting close to lose his temper, "So this whole thing is my fault is it. Then I'll remind you that you wouldn't even look at her until I started convincing you that your feelings were wrong." Owen was breathing heavily, "I don't expect you to believe me, but I was asked to bring you two back together by a being far beyond your imagining."

"Your right Owen, I don't believe you." Spyro walked past Owen back to the Ballroom.

Owen was enraged, his golden eyes had the look of a wild animal. Owen couldn't hold his temper anymore, his hand erupted in a white flame. He punched the nearest thing with a furious scream, he punched a statue of a man and woman embracing each other in their arms. Owen threw back his head and gave a ferial roar that was half beast and half man.

__

"Wake up you lazy oaf." the voice was accompanied by prodding in his side.

Paul's head was throbbing, "Who…what?" his vision was blurry but could make out the appearance of a frail person, "Who…who are you?"

"I am here to make a proposition." The being had grey skin and was hiding in the shadows, "My Master wishes you to join him."

Paul was rubbing his head, "Who is your Master and why should I join him?" Paul was struggling to form an intelligent sentence.

The creature grinned, or Paul thought it did, "My Master will soon rule this land. As for why you should join him, he can give you power, enough power to destroy Evan."

"How do you know about him?" Paul asked.

The creature stretched out its arm and opened its boney hand, "You will get what you want, and more."

Paul sat there for a long while, trying to decide through a drunken haze, "Alright, I'll do it." Paul grabbed the creatures hand, it had no warmth.

"I knew you would." It said and pulled Paul into the shadow it hid in and through the network of shadows it used to travel, it took him to Nexus's tower.

__

Jas walked into the garden, Spyro had just stormed past her not even noticing her, she heard a savage roar and hurried towards it. Jas nearly tripped over a piece of stone, it was a severed woman's head. Jas looked up to see Owen breathing heavily, "Owen?" he turned and his eyes seemed to glow, he had a wild and dangerous look in his eyes. Jas felt like she was looking at a wild animal, Owen snarled at her. "Owen, its me." she said comfortingly.

Owen turned away from her, and snarled, "Get away, get away from me!"

"Owen what's wrong?" Jas asked.

Owen clawed at his head for he did have claws, "I can't control it, stay away, stay away!"

Jas cautiously moved forward, "Let me help."

"No! It wants blood!" Owen was violently shacking his head, "I can feel it inside of me, it wants blood!"

Jas slowly walked up to Owen and placed he hands on both sides of his face, "Let me help you." she closed her eyes and moved into Owen's mind. Jas felt like she wasn't entering Owen's mind, but that of a wild animal. The animal was fighting with Owen's humanity and winning, Jas calmed the beast with all if her might and it curled up in the far corner of Owen's mind. Something else in Owen's bothered her, it was like a shadow out of the corner of her eye, but when she wanted to look at it nothing would be there. Jas retreated to her own mind.

Jas opened her eyes and saw the Owen that she knew, his face was calm and his golden eyes were gentle. Owen touched Jas's hands with his, they no longer had claws, "Thank you, I thought that I lost myself."

"Owen, just what was that?" Jas asked concerned.

Owen looked away regretfully, "That was the wolf in me. I can keep it from showing itself, but when I get angry I just lose control and I can barely regain it."

"How did you stop it once it has gotten out before?" Jas turned Owen's head so he would look at her.

"Most of the time I can brush it off and try to keep my temper down. This was the first time it almost destroyed me." Owen sounded scared.

"Then I will help you." Jas said.

Owen shook his head, "No, you can't." Jas gave him a firm look, "You may have beaten it this time, but the next time it will know what to expect." Owen gave a mournful look, "After Nexus is defeated I'm going back to the Pack to learn how control it."

"You'll leave then?" Jas asked.

Owen nodded, "I don't know how long I'll be, it could takes weeks or months for all I know."

"Why were you angry?" Jas changed the subject, she didn't want to think of Owen leaving.

Owen turned away from Jas, she could sense Owen holding back his anger, "Its Spyro, I don't know what to do." Owen paced taking deep calm breaths, "He blames me for this whole mess, I tried to tell him that Fate told me to do it, I don't blame him for not believing me." Owen winced, Jas didn't know about Fate.

"What will happen now?" Jas asked stepping in front of Owen stopping his pacing, she thought that Owen was using the figurative term of fate.

"I don't know." Owen said shaking his head. Owen looked at the shattered statue and grimaced, "Jas, do you think I'm a monster?"

"No." Jas asked shocked and hurt, "What ever gave you that idea?"

Owen could feel the animal within him stiring, "Because I do."

Jas touched Owens face, "Your not, I don't think so and neither should you." Owen gave a weak smile, Jas lead Owen by the hand back to the Ballroom.

__

Catharine was walking down the dark street away from the castle, "Who does that little wench think she is, denying what is rightfully mine. What does she have that I don't?" She didn't expect a response.

"For one she has his heart." Catharine looked down a dark ally, that is where she heard the voice. A dark figure appeared out of the shadows, "That is a start."

"I demand to know who you are." Catharine demanded.

The figure gave a horse laugh, "I am a messenger, my Master wishes your assistance."

Catharine turned and started walking, "I'm not interested."

"My Master will give you anything you want in return." The voice said in no particular haste.

"Just who is your Master?" Catharine asked.

The figure gestured to a dark shadow, "I will take you to him if my Lady wishes."

Catharine sniffed, "At lest your well mannered, I hope your Master also." Catharine grabbed the figures hand and recoiled from its icy grip, it did not let go, they stepped into a shadow and were no longer in the city.

__

Ty was dancing with the red haired girl, he really didn't know how to dance and was trying not to step on her feet. That is about all he knew about dancing.

"You really are not that bad at dancing." she said, Ty never got her name, she reached up to remover his hat.

Ty put his hand on his hat so she couldn't move it, "The hat stays."

"Why, it makes you look silly." The girl protested.

Ty though fast, "This hat once belong to my grandfather, the hat stays." That was a lie, he didn't even know his own parents. She tried to remove it anyways, Ty said more forcefully, "The hat stays." she pouted, it had no effect on him though, his sister pouted all the time.

She then politely told Ty, "I have to go."

_Better this way than if she found out what I am_. Ty thought, he was not ashamed of being a werewolf, he was just afraid of what people would think, especially stuck up nobles. Ty sat down and sighed, "At least I can rest now." He saw Jas and Owen enter from the gardens, _At lest their having a good time_, Ty looked over to their left and saw his sister and Evan, _them too_. Owen said something to Jas, Ty didn't hear it, it was hard to concentrate with all of the voices. Owen started to walk over to Ty and sat down next to him, "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yea, could be better though." Owen sighed.

"Problems?" Ty asked.

Owen paused for a long time, "Have you ever had trouble controlling yourself?"

"How so?" Ty was getting suspicious.

"You know, when the wolf inside wants to get out but you don't want it to. How do you control it?" Owen asked keeping his voice down.

Ty leaned back pushing his hat down, "I let it out, it is as simple as that. Why do you ask?"

"I…I can't control it." Owen said, Ty leaned forward and listened intently, "I can't control it, it wants to tear me apart."

"Owen, you have to accept that there is no 'it', there is only you." Ty was keeping his voice down, "It is a part of you, it is you, you need to control yourself. You are not an animal but you are also more that you once were, do not try to go against your instincts, but do not lose yourself." Ty leaned in closer, "There is nothing more dangerous than a werewolf that doesn't have restraint." Owen was about to speak but Ty cut him off, "You are trying to put a wolf in a small cage, the next time it wants to get out of the cage, let it." Ty stood up, "Remember, we're not animals." He then walked away into the crowd.

__

Kenneth was walking to the stone door that lead to the University, he knew that he was being followed. He sensed the creature surface out of the shadows, Ken stopped, he could sense it but couldn't hear it. _It can only be one thing_, Ken thought, he hit the floor with the bottom of his staff, the red crystal on the top erupted into a ball of flame. Ken head a bloodcurdling scream from behind him, Ken did not turn around, "Why have you been following me?" He sensed that the Nightwalker was hiding in his shadow but it was not physically in it.

The Nightwalker panted, "My…my Master requests your aid."

Ken snorted, "Why does Nexus think I would help him? I should destroy you right now." The fire from Ken's staff began glowing brighter shrinking his shadow.

"Wait!" The Nightwalker begged, "My Master can help you." The shadow continued to shrink, "He can give you power…power enough to destroy Lan."

Ken turned around and grabbed the Nightwalker by the ragged collar, the staff stayed firmly in place, "How do you know about Lan! Answer me!"

"My Master knows all about you and Lan." The Nightwalker showed fear, light was harmful to Nightwalkers, although only true light could destroy them, any other light would be an eternal torture to them. "He knows that you envy him, that you hate him for being more of a 'curiosity' than you."

"Keep talking, before I light up this entire castle giving you nowhere to hide." Ken was furious, what the Nightwalker said made him angry, mostly because it was true.

The Nightwalker was frantic, "My Master will give you more than enough power to destroy Lan, you will become more powerful than any other mage."

Ken threw the Nightwalker into the light, it screamed in pain and thrashed on the floor, "If you are lying to me, or if Nexus doesn't fulfill what you say, I will make you and all of your kind feel the pain you feel now." Ken grabbed his staff and the light was extinguished, "Do I make myself clear." The Nightwalker nodded panting and took Ken into a nearby shadow.

__

"A toast!" There was a noble dressed in blues and greens standing on the stage, he wore the black collar that projected ones voice, "I propose a toast!" all of the waiters were passing out wine to everyone in the room, "A toast to King Benjamin and to the two young princes, to health and victory."

__

The group was together except for Spyro, he had been avoiding Owen, and Ace was among the nobles. A waiter was handing wine out to each one of them. Owen grabbed his glass and looked up at the stage, "Kiss ass." he muttered with a grin.

"To the King!" Lan shouted. The nobles heard Lan and echoed his shout.

"To our father." Chad said clanging glasses with Owen.

Owen sniffed, "To a short battle in the days to come." Owen took a drink from his glass, it tasted funny. Disgust showed on Owen's face, he wasn't the only one, everyone in the room had a twisted face as if they just ate a lime.

Ty smelt the wine, "It doesn't even smell right." Ty started to sway and grabbed his head with his free hand.

Everyone else started to sway as if about to fall off balance, "What…what's happening?" Owen asked. There was a scream from somewhere in the Ballroom, people were falling to the ground. Owen dropped his glass and it shattered as it hit the floor. Jas fell to the ground and Owen tried to catch her only to fall as well. He was caught by someone.

"Prince Owen, are you alright?" It was Arnold, he sounded frantic. Owen was lowered to the ground.

Owen saw some dragons running up to the stage along with some mages, the noble on the stage pulled out a black crystal. The crystal seemed to be draining them, _What is going on?_ Owen thought to himself. Arnold's mouth was moving but Owen couldn't hear him, the last thing that Owen saw before he blacked out was Jas's motionless body.

__

Axel was in the training yard hitting a punching bag with his fists. He wore his usual blue torn at the solder shirt and blue pants, he also wore his blue fabric mask that covered the lower part of his face, he never went anywhere without it. He had his hands wrapped in white bandages. Axel felt the slightest decrease in the temperature and he stopped punching, "Show yourself." The moons shown in the sky and the walls made long shadows, something about them seemed unnatural. Axel walked to the center of the training yard, something in the shadow shifted and took shape. Axel readied his power of ice, "Who are you? Why do you hide yourself?"

The figure walked close to the end of the shadow but never set foot out of it, "My Master has a proposal that you cannot deny."

Axel walked to the edge of the shadow but stayed a few feet from entering it, Axel froze the bandages around his hand making them harder. "Why does your Master send a messenger? Is he afraid?" Axel had never changed the ice cold tone of his voice.

The creature seemed offended by that, "My Master will help you reclaim your kingdom if you help him."

"What makes you think that I will help him?" Axel could feel the curse stronger than ever, _This could be the end of it, forever._ Axel thought hopefully.

"My Master is a man of his word." The frail creature rasped, "He would never go back on his word, not on his life." The corner of the creatures mouth twitched, was it a brief smile?

Axel couldn't resist the curses pull anymore, it was like a thousand strings pulling on his soul and another thousand knives stabbing him towards the dark creature. "I will go with you." Axels voice quaked but still maintained its cold touch. The creature walked back and motioned Axel to follow. When Axel was in the shadow it stuck out its hand, Axel grabbed it. Its touch was cold, but his was colder. They melted into the shadows.

__

Cynder landed far away from the castle, far away from Spyro. Tears rolled down her face. There was a small outcropping of rocks that made a small cave. Cynder was tired and sad, she walked inside. She curled up in the corner of the small cave, more tears rolled down her face. Cynder sobbed, "I'm sorry Spyro." before sleep took her.

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**Don't hate me for it, because I already do, that is all I can say. Next chapter out soon with happier turnouts…more or less, more than less.**


	25. Chapter 25

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 25: Revelation**

Cynder was in a void of white, if that was possible. Everywhere she looked was nothing but white, a man all clad in black with a cowl that was attached to an equally black cloak faded into view. The cowl's shadow covered the upper part of the man's face leaving only the mouth visible. The man stopped a few paces from Cynder, "Why?" the man asked.

"Why what?" Cynder didn't trust the man but she felt that if she ran she would only end up face to face with him anyways.

"Why did you leave?" Cynder couldn't read the man's face, at least what showed of it.

It dawned on Cynder, she was dreaming, "I don't know what you are talking about." A pang of sadness flowed through her.

"You do know what I'm talking about," the man began, "now answer my question. Why did you leave Spyro?"

Cynder curled up covering her head with her wings, "This is just a dream." she said over and over, in the past when she knew she was dreaming she would wake up. Cynder heard footsteps walk up to her, she opened her wings just a crack and she saw black boots in front of her.

"You are right, this is a dream, but it is also something more." The man sighed, "Cynder, answer me."

"How…how do you know my name?" Cynder asked curling up tighter.

"You could say that I am in a position to know these things." The man then asked after a pause. "would you like to know mine?"

Cynder whimpered, "Yes."

"I am the Keeper of Fate, you may call me Fate or Keeper, it doesn't matter to me." Cynder opened her wings wider and glanced up at Fate, he was bent over her and he wore a smile, "There is no reason to be afraid, I am here to help."

"Help me how?" Cynder asked slowly folding her wings.

Fate stood up and paced in front of Cynder, "I realize that you are confused, I will help you, but first you have to help yourself. Start by standing up." Cynder cautiously stood up, "There we go, there's a start." Fate sounded friendly enough, "Now answer my question, why did you leave Spyro."

Cynder tried to find an answer, tears welled up in her eyes, "Because if I love him he will die."

"Who told you this?" Fate asked, it sounded like he knew the answer already.

"A woman, in white, in my dreams. She showed me the future." Cynder was crying, but trying to hold them back.

"Do not hate her for it, she was only doing as told." Fate explained to Cynder the tie of Fate and Destiny, "Now plans have changed, please understand that I was against the decision."

"Well I hope that they are satisfied." Cynder said, she didn't cry but old tears still stained her face, "I don't even know if I can trust you." Cynder took a step away, Fate appeared in front of her.

Fate wore a frown, "You do not understand, you will not leave unless you cooperate. Cynder, we are not your enemies. Let me set straight what they did wrong."

Cynder eyed Fate suspiciously, "I still don't trust you, but I guess I have no other choice but to accept your help."

Fate walked beside Cynder and faced the same direction as her, "You may not like what you see, but you will enjoy the last part, I can assure you that." The surroundings shifted, "Be not alarmed, we are not actually here." Fate warned.

Cynder recognized that they were on the hills of Convexity. More specifically, they were in the point of time where Spyro fought Cynder's older, darker, self. Spyro unleashed his Convexity attack knocking the evil Cynder to the ground, she turned into the younger Cynder being released from Malefor's control.

"She is just like me." Spyro said startled. Debris was being sucked into the portal.

"Dude, we got to get out of here, NOW!" Sparx shouted.

Spyro gripped the ground resisting the pull of the portal, "I can't leave her behind... I've got to save her!"

"What? Save the beast that's been trying to kill us?" Sparx asked startled.

"That wasn't her fault... she was being used by the Dark Master!" Cynder's body started to be pulled by the portal, Spyro let go and plunged in after her.

Cynder held her breath, _Did he really go after me?_ She thought. She had been unconscious at the time.

Spyro flew out of the portal carrying Cynder, "Now we can go!"

Everything stopped. Cynder looked around startled, it was like time itself had stopped. "I want you to think about why he did that." Fate said. Cynder thought and she couldn't figure out why. "We move on." The surroundings shifted, they were standing in a garden. Cynder recognized it as the Temple's garden and the night she first left.

Spyro approached from one of the entries, "Cynder what are you doing out here? It's dangerous."

"You shouldn't have followed me Spyro." Cynder looked away as her younger self spoke.

"That's good enough for me. Let's go. See ya! Huh." Sparx sounded eager.

Cynder shook her head, "Please, don't make this any harder for me than it already is."

"I'm just trying to understand." Spyro did sound confused.

Cynder didn't want to relive this part of her life, her younger self spoke, "I'm leaving Spyro. I don't belong here. After all I've done, all I've put you through... I can't stay."

"Cynder, nobody blames you for what happened." Spyro said comfortingly.

"Huh, I do. Speak for yourself." Sparx sassed.

"Sparx…" Spyro said annoyed.

"No, Sparx is right. And every day that goes by, I'm reminded of it. Spyro, your place is here, your destiny is here. But mine is somewhere out there for me to find." Cynder sounded a little sad.

"Cynder, I don't want you to go." Spyro replied.

"Goodbye Spyro…" Cynder turned and ran. Spyro shook his head disappointedly.

Time stopped, Spyro wore a sad looked frozen in time. Cynder walked over to him and she sighed, "Why did you bring me hear?" She asked Fate.

"I am taking you through past memories, you are reliving your feelings for him, and don't lie about it. I know you are." Fate had walked up to Cynder.

Fate was right, Cynder felt the same way she did when she left. "I take it that we are not done yet." The surroundings shifted again.

"Tonight... we have a special bonus match!"

_Not this place_, Cynder thought.

"Cool, a bonus match!" Sparx sounded excited.

"Spyro the Dragon... versus... the former queen of conquer herself... Cynder!" Scratch announced.

_Stupid bird, _Cynder though a little annoyed by bad memories.

"AHH!!! I told you she was evil. Hehe, look, my eye's twitching again." Sparx said frantically.

Cynder and Spyro paced in a circle pattern, "Just like old times, huh Spyro?" Cynder asked.

"Cynder, I'm not going to fight you." Spyro said forcefully.

"Relax. I'm just trying to put on a show for the crowd while we figure out what to do." Cynder pulled up her wings to muffle the sound.

"Don't trust her. She wants to eat me!" Sparx panicked.

There was a roar and a metal object fell on deck, the ship was under attack.

"What's happening?" Spyro asked coughing.

Sparx was flying around looking for an a way out, "I want out…I want out!" Sparx came face to face with one of the ape's flying bat-like mounts, "I want in…I want in!"

"Get away from me! Help!" Cynder shouted, she was being taken by one of the bat mounts.

"Cynder!" Spyro shouted. Time stopped.

Fate moved around to Spyro holing his right hand up to his chin in thought, "He came after you, even after you left him." Fate said looking at Spyro, "Why do you think he did that?"

"I…I don't know." Cynder lied.

Fate smiled, "I think you do." Fate paused waiting for Cynder to say something, Fate sighed, "Then allow me to answer the question for you." The surroundings shifted.

Cynder did not recognize the place, I looked like a really old library, there was a giant hour glass in the center of the room, "There must be some mistake, I don't remember this place."

"Watch." Fate responded pointing forward.

An old grey dragon wearing a blue cloak walked towards Spyro, "The records in this hall date back to the beginning of time... Nearly."

"The Chronicler!" Spyro sounded excited.

"Yes, Spyro... It is I... And I've been waiting for you." The Chronicler sounded old and wise.

"Oh, well... I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long. We got a little held up back there... with the uh... well, you know... Riddles Of Doom!" Sparx said jokingly, Spyro was glaring at Sparx.

"It was a necessary evil. I had to be sure, Spyro" The Chronicler walked forward, "I haven't had any visitors... in my solitude... for over a thousand years."

Sparx flew in front of the Chronicler, "Shocker! Try getting rid of the psychedelic dragon outside!"

"You've been here for that long?" Spyro asked.

"Oh yes, but I have my books," The Chronicler responded, "and I watch and wait and listen for things to come and then add them to the books of time." The Chronicler paused, "You are also written in the books, though many pages are still left incomplete."

Spyro's eyes widened, "I am? Can I see?"

"Of course you can." The Chronicler looked up at one of the shelves, "This one is yours, look." A purple book bound in gold trim opened up and hovered towards them. Spyro stepped forward. "You've seen this hideous creature before…"

"Why is he in my book?" Spyro asked.

The Chronicler explained, "It was Gaul who led the raid of the temple the night of your birth... when Ignitus rescued your egg…"

Spyro interrupted, "...and when they took Cynder's."

"Yes... that was most unfortunate." The Chronicler said regretfully. Quickly changing the subject. "Oh! And look... here is little Sparx."

Sparx interrupted "He-hey! Nobody needs to see that...ever."

"Wait, can't these books tell the future?" Spyro asked eagerly.

The Chronicler paused, "In parts, though, glimpses of the future really."

Fate made a harrumph sound, Cynder wondered why.

"Then I want to know what will happen to Cynder." Spyro demanded. Cynder turned her attention on what was happening before her.

The Chronicler protested, "Spyro you don't under…"

"Please." Spyro pleaded, "I must know."

The Chronicler folded his legs under himself and sighed, "Very well, but hers is a darker tale." The Purple and gold book closed and floated back to the shelf, a black and gold book hovered off of the shelf and moved in front of them while opening, "Spyro, you must understand, when she was taken by Gaul, she was poisoned and corrupted, made to do the Dark Master's bidding. Her entire life has been spent in shadow. She knows no other way. And when the Dark Master returns... she will concede." Cynder winced, "No one can resist the temptation... not even the strongest among us."

"I don't believe that." Spyro protested. Their was a white flash, "But you said the eclipse would only allow the spirit's to escape for a short while?" the conversation seemed to have leaped.

"Yes, but if there was ever a spirit powerful enough…" The Chronicler explained.

"Then how do we stop it?" Spyro demanded.

The Chronicler stood up, "There is no stopping it, it has been written.""Then why have you called us here?" Spyro demanded, "I don't understand."

"To ride out this storm where you'll be safe, to live to fight another day." The Chronicler said forcefully.

Sparx spoke up, "Well, that sounds pretty good."

Spyro ignored him, "What about the others? What about their safety?"

"I feel the worst for the others." The Chronicler had no regret in his voice.

"And Cynder? Am I suppose to sit here and do nothing? While she joins them?" Spyro asked forcefully.

"Let me field this one, YES!" Sparx shouted.

"No." Spyro said to Sparx, he turned to the Chronicler, "You keep talking about choosing a path, but what about Cynder? She was never given a choice. I have to try, I'm going and you can't stop me." Time stopped, it looked like the Chronicler was going to say something but he was frozen in time.

Cynder stood motionless with awe, _Spyro came after me even after what the Chronicler told him?_ "Spyro." Cynder whispered mournfully.

Fate was leaning on a wall, arms crossed, "You know, he never viewed you as evil." Fate walked up to Cynder, "We're not done yet." Fate looked at the Chronicler and shook his head, the surroundings shifted.

They were standing in a bleak room with a purple column of convexity in the center of the room. Spyro flew up the column

"Spyro stop!" Cynder yelled.

Spyro was filled with the power of Convexity, "Whoa. Calm down man, it's me!" Sparx said backing away.

Spyro tried to break away from the column, "I…I can't"

Cynder leapt into the air and tackled Spyro out of the column. "Spyro?" Sparx asked concerned.

"What have I done?" Spyro asked.

"Your ok, Spyro. Your with friends." Cynder said comfortingly.

Spyro shook his head, "I'm sorry, I…I couldn't stop." Large rocks fell from the ceiling destroying the glass above.

"Uh, oh! That was our only way out!" Sparx yelled.

"Come on. Now's our chance!" Cynder urged.

"Just go…" Spyro said.

"Get up, Spyro! We're not leaving without you." Cynder said forcefully.

Sparx flew up in Spyro's face, "Usually I would say ignore her, but she's making sense this time."

Spyro struggled to his feet. Rocks fell blocking the exit, "Oh no…we're trapped!" Spyro looked around at Sparx and Cynder, a determined look appeared on Spyro's face, "Get close to me now!" Sparx hovered near Spyro and Cynder walked close to him. Spyro stretched out his wings, a golden light radiated from him. The light enveloped Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx and solidified. Time stopped.

A large rock stopped just above Fate's head, he seamed unaware. "Now I am going to mix up the question this time. Why didn't _you_ leave Spyro? You had the perfect time to leave."

Cynder turned away, "I…I couldn't leave him there."

"Any why was that?" Fate pressed for answers.

"I…I couldn't live with my self if he died." Cynder said.

"That is not the right answer." Fate replied. The surroundings shifted.

"Are you ready for this?" Spyro asked.

"I'm scared." Cynder replied.

Spyro walked forward, "Just stay close to me."

Cynder looked at Fate but he was nowhere to be seen, "Keeper?" no one replied, "Fate where are you?" Cynder shook her head and followed herself and Spyro. They entered through into a large anteroom.

A dark purple dragon stood on a platform, it was Malefor, "At long last, my guests have arrived. Please…come in." Cynder shuddered at the sound of his voice. "Such determination to get here." Malefor started to walk forward, "It seems we share other qualities besides that of our color."

"No. I'm nothing like you!" Spyro said forcefully.

Malefor was right next to them, "Do you think so? Hmm…we'll get to that."

"Don't listen to him Spyro. Don't listen to anything he says." Cynder whispered to Spyro.

"You look so weary. Allow me to make you more comfortable." Malefor said calmly. The serpent collar around Spyro and Cynder's necks glowed brightly and vanished. "There, that's better isn't it? It is the least I could do for you Cynder. After all, you've done so much for me."

"You used her!" Spyro protested.

"I used her. She used you. What does it matter really?" Malefor asked.

"What does he mean?" Spyro asked Cynder.

"What…he doesn't know?" Malefor laughed, "Go on, tell him. You mustn't leave him in the dark…"Spyro interrupted, "Tell me what?"

"How she lured you to the Well of Souls…how she tricked you into freeing me." Malefor replied.

"Your lying!" Cynder said.

"Hmm…I find it most peculiar… how you've chosen to remember things. Let me assure you. It was you who freed me. Spyro. And it was you who brought me back. And we have Cynder to thank for that." Malefor laughed.

"Cynder? Is it true?" Spyro asked disbelieving.

"No…I don't know…I don't know anymore…" Cynder said confused.

"Oh I think you do. But perhaps you need a little nudge." Malefor's eyes glowed and Cynder turned pitch black.

"Cynder!" Spyro yelled. Malefor laughed, Cynder opened up her eyes, they white pupil less, "Cynder no!"

Malefor said victoriously "Ignitus should had warned you... You are alone here, young dragon. You have always been alone. Still, here you are... trying so desperately to save this miserable world…" Cynder struck Spyro, "refusing to accept the true role of the purple dragon. I'm sure you've been told that I was the first of our kind... but I assure you, there have been many. It has been the duty of our predecessors to resurrect the Destroyer and the Golems of the deep... to bring about the great cleansing. This is the true nature of our kind. Your destiny is to destroy the world."

Cynder struck Spyro sending him flying back, "No! I don't believe that!" Spyro yelled.

"Of course you don't. But you have fulfilled your destiny nonetheless. In my time, I was stopped... prevented from completing my quest. But you... you have carried the flame... be it through your own will or not. And soon, the world will be destroyed, you along with it." Malefor said.

"No…" Spyro said disbelieving. Cynder smacked Spyro across the face with her scythe-like tail."Fight back!" Cynder demanded, Malefor laughed, Cynder struck Spyro again, "Fight back, Why won't you fight back?"

Spyro replied sadly already given up hope, "Because you've left me nothing to fight for."

Cynder's white eyes widened, the darkness dispersed from her scaled like smoke, "There's always something." Cynder said comfortingly. Time stopped.

"The answer is close at hand." The Keeper of Fate's voice boomed but he was nowhere to be seen, "Do you know what it is." Cynder remained silent, "We move on then." The surroundings shifted, the floor became a purple crystal and the walls of the cave were breaking apart.

"Spyro, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Cynder said remorsefully.

"Don't be. It's over now." Spyro replied

The cracks of the cave walls widened larger, "So this is it...?" Cynder asked.

Spyro closed his eyes in thought then opened them, "I know what I need to do. Just get out of here, Cynder."

"Spyro, no... You don't have to do anything. Let's just go." Cynder protested.

"Where Cynder?" Spyro asked, "There'll be nothing left! The world is breaking apart. But I think I can stop it. I think I'm meant to."

There was a pause, "Then I'm with you…" Spyro hovered in the air and a purple glow radiated from his body, "I love you…" Cynder's words echoed, Cynder realized that she said 'I love you' with her past self. Time stopped.

Fate faded into view in front of Cynder, "Now that is an answer."

"Why did you do this? Why did you make me relive these memories?" Cynder asked.

Fate shook his head, and said amused, "You are so young, so confused. Cynder, you have had a rough life, one that I am heart fully sorry for. But you lived for a reason, despite the consequences, you and Spyro are meant for each other."

"How do I know that I even do love him?" Cynder asked, "For all I know you could have manipulated my emotions."

Fate sighed, "I can assure you that your emotions now are your own." Fate paused, "There were dozens that could have lived the night the temple was raided instead of you, but you lived, you were chosen from all of the others."

"Why then? Why did I live?" Cynder demanded.

"Because of your heart." Fate said bluntly, "Of all of the others at the temple that died, still in their eggs, you had the most heart out of all of them. That is why you lived."

"I don't understand," Cynder said confused, "it was because of my heart."

"Better for me to show you." Fate pointed behind Cynder. Cynder turned, the surroundings shifted. Cynder recognized it as the temple, but this room looked like a waiting room, it was quite large, large enough to hold several full grown dragons. Two doors were on one wall and another on the opposite wall.

"Will you stop with the pacing?" Owen asked. Owen was in his dragon form and was much larger than Cynder remembered, he kind of looked like Ace when he was a dragon except his horns weren't as long and his scale beard was just starting and his shoulders were just sprouting spikes. He was laying on his belly, his tail twitching.

"I can't help it." Spyro said frantically. Spyro also looked different, not only was he bigger, he had spines above his eyes, on his jaw line, and on his shoulders similar to those that ran down his back. "What if something goes wrong? What if…"

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Owen reassured Spyro, "Besides, if you worry yourself to much you'll get an ulcer."

Spyro paused his pacing, "What's and ulcer?"

"It's a hole in your stomach." Owen replied.

"Oh, great, something else for me to worry about." Spyro continued his pacing.

Owen shook his head, "Spyro, just sit down and take a breath. I'm sure Ignitus knows what he is doing."

Spyro sighed, "Your right, I'm probably just overreacting." A feminine roar was heard behind one of the doors. "That's Cynder!" Spyro yelled, he tensed and he lunged towards the right handed door.

Owen leaped at Spyro, Cynder didn't think he would cover the distance to Spyro before he made it to the door. There was a white flash where Owen was and Owen was suddenly at Spyro tackling him, "Just hold on Spyro!" Owen yelled restraining Spyro, "You will just make it worse. Just calm down."

Spyro loosen up his tension and said sadly, "I know, its just…its just that she is all I got."

"I know." Owen replied, there was a pause, "Now I am going to let you go, but you have to promise me that you will sit patiently and stop your worrying."

Spyro stayed quit for a long white, "Alright." Owen released Spyro and lied back down next to the left handed door. Spyro sighed and sat next to the right door.

Not too long after, the right door opened and a red dragon stepped out, "Spyro, she is ready to see you." Ignitus said. Spyro entered through the right door, "I'll leave you two alone." Ignitus stayed in the room with Owen.

Fate motioned Cynder to follow Spyro and she did. The room was not as big at the last room, but it still could hold several dragons. Cynder saw herself and gasped, she saw herself coiled around a black egg with yellow flecks on it. Cynder didn't look all that different than she did now, except that she was bigger and her horns were longer. That didn't strike Cynder as to big of a disappointment.

"Cynder." Spyro said comfortingly.

"Spyro." Cynder replied.

Spyro walked over and laid down next to Cynder, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." Cynder said wearily.

Spyro frowned slightly, "I was worried."

Cynder nuzzled Spyro's neck, "You do to much of that."

"I love you." Spyro said nuzzling Cynder back.

"And I love you, Spyro, and I always will." Cynder said comfortingly. Time stopped.

"That is what I mean when I said you have the most heart." Fate walked over to Spyro and Cynder, he looked down at their egg and smiled.

Cynder stepped forward, "Will this happen?"

The smile slowly faded from Fate's face, "Everything might or might not happen, this might happen and it might not." Fate turned to Cynder, "Do you want it to happen?"

Cynder paused looking at herself and Spyro, "Yes…yes, I want this."

Fate walked up to Cynder and crouched down bringing him to eye level with Cynder, even this close Cynder could not see any part of his face besides his mouth. "Why?"

"Because…because…" Cynder paused and came to a startled realization, "Because I love him."

Fate smiled, "Now you have no doubt in your mind about that." Fate go up and started to walk away, "My work hear is done." A white vertical line appeared in front of him and widened into a hole the lead into what appeared to be an all white study.

"Wait!" Cynder called, "What now?"

Fate stopped, "Now? Now I have done what I came to do. But that is only half of the job." Fate paused and turned to Cynder, "The rest is up to you, you will know what to do when you wake." Fate stepped through the hole and it quickly vanished.

"What do you mean?" Cynder asked but she go no reply. She turned to the frozen image of Spyro and herself and she smiled fondly. Her vision started to blur and the next thing she new…

…she woke inside a small cave. Light was entering though the mouth of the cave, it was morning. Cynder got up and yawned then smiled to herself. She walked out of the cave and looked towards Regnum of Lux lucis, there was smoke rising from several spot of the city.

"Something is wrong." Cynder said to herself. She leapt into the air and flew of towards of the city. "I'm coming Spyro."

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**A little trip down memory lane. So now Cynder knows about Fate and now loves Spyro again. Next Chapter out soon.**


	26. Chapter 26

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 26: A Daring Rescue**

Cynder made her way into the city. She had to sneak in because she overheard the guards at the gate talking about an arrest warrant for two black dragons, one with a crimson underbelly and wings and noticeable markings on her forehead, hips, and shoulders that more or less gave a general description of Cynder. The other one was described with black ridged horns and spines that leads to a bladed tail. She had no idea what was going on or why she was wanted arrested so she stuck to the shadows and blended with the crowds. She made her way to the castle, _Ace should be able to sort this out._ Cynder saw some guards coming towards her, they stopped a black dragon some ways off, Cynder darted into an ally. She heard a guard yell at her. Cynder concealed herself with shadow. The guards rounded the corner and ran right past her.

"Find her!" one of them ordered, he wore a closed helm, "Lord Alexander will not be pleased if she escapes." The guard paced angrily, "Bar the gates, place a barrier around the city, I don't want so much as a fly to leave this city."

The rest of the guards saluted and replied, "Yes sir!" the guards filed out of the ally.

The guard that remained waited until they left then turned around, "You can come out Cynder." Cynder didn't move, or breath for that matter. The guard removed his helmet, Cynder gasped, it was Chad.

Cynder removed the shadow from around herself, "How did you know I was here?"

Chad hushed Cynder, "Keep your voice down. If you must know, I could sense you, or I could sense you using shadow. That's not important right now, what are you doing here?"

"Chad what is going on?" Cynder asked confused, "Why is the city on high alert?"

Chad sighed, "I can explain, but now here or now."

"Then where?" Cynder asked.

"I was getting to that." Chad calmly, "Meet me at The King's Sword, use the back door, and don't get spotted. Terry is there, she will keep you safe." Chad put his helmet back on, "I will try to stall the guards as long as I can."

"What do you mean 'stall the guards'?" Cynder asked suspiciously.

Chad drew his sword, it wasn't his sword but a regular guard sword, "I mean, run. Oiy I found her! She's over here!" Cynder stood there, Chad whispered, "Run." Some guards entered the ally, Cynder bolted, "Don't let her escape!"

Cynder took flight, _What is he thinking!_ Cynder flew into the district where The King's Sword was located, she was still being pursued so she dove into an ally and concealed herself with shadow. Cynder waited in the ally and watched as some guards ran by. Cynder removed the shadow from herself. Cynder sighed, _Just what was he trying to accomplish?_ Cynder saw an old blanket in the ally and picked it up, her nose wrinkled, _Ancestors that's foul_. Cynder gagged and wrapped the blanket around herself, _If the guards don't take me for me, maybe the smell will drive them away_. Cynder grinned at the thought of guards running from a smelly beggar.

__

Spyro woke in a dark room, from the cold stone floor he guessed it was a dungeon or a cellar, _Please let it be a cellar, _he thought. The last thing he remembered before passing out was a man on stage holding a black crystal then the energy draining out of him, _I thought I destroyed all of them_, Spyro thought to himself, he still felt tired.

"Spyro! Your awake." it was Owen, "You hade us worried."

Spyro remained silent, he didn't forgive Owen for what he has done. Spyro wished he knew where Owen was, so he knew he wasn't looking at him, but all he saw a darkness, "Now is not the time to be suborn." That was Jas, "Spyro, you had us all worried."

"I'm sorry." Spyro replied coldly. Spyro felt bad just then, Jas didn't do anything wrong. Spyro then said friendlier, "I'm sorry. Where are we anyways."

"We're in the castle dungeons." It sounded like Ace, and from the sound of it, was sitting next to Spyro, "I should have sentenced that bastard to death." Ace sighed, "I suppose that is what I get for giving him a second chance." Ace paused, "At least Chad and Cynder managed to escape."

Spyro made a pfft sound when Ace mentioned Cynder. _I hope she's alright_, Spyro was shocked with himself, _Why do I still feel for her?_ After a long moment of silence Spyro asked, "What happened?"

Ace sighed, Spyro saw some motion next to him, his eyes were adjusting to the dark, "Where to start…" Ace paused, "When I realized that the wine had some knockout formula in it I…expelled it."

"How did you do that?" Spyro asked.

Ace stayed silent for awhile, "Vomit." Spyro cringed, " Almost all of the guests were on the floor and the next thing I knew my manna was being drained. I managed to smash the black crystal, I have no idea where he got his hands on one." Ace paused, "The next thing happened so fast I didn't know it happened until it was over…Alexander is free. He came storming in with a hundred or so guards claiming that I was a false king, they had us all arrested."

"They took my staff." Lan sounded like he was in a corner and not to happy about it, "Along with all of the other mages."

Ace continued on, "Somehow Chad managed to escape, along with Cynder, they are our only hope."

Spyro heard the sound of metal on metal and covered his ears.

"Would you cut it out Evan!" Ty yelled, "It didn't work the first time so it won't work now."

"Besides," Lan started, "this cell is enchanted, nothing is getting out."

Evan sighed, "I know, I just wanted to give it one more try." Spyro saw a shadowy figure walk from the bars of the cell and sat down next to another shadowy figure.

"You tried you best." It sounded like Kim.

Spyro felt motion next to him, "Ember, are you alright?" Owen asked.

The figure of a dragoness sat up next to Spyro, "My head is pounding." Spyro saw Ember's head swivel, "Where are we?"

Ace sighed, "Were in a dungeon, Ember. That traitor Alexander put us here."

"What do you mean?" Ember asked.

"Let me start from the beginning." Ace said.

__

Cynder was at the back door of the King's Sword. She had a few close calls with the guards but made it here without being detected. Cynder raised a paw to knock the door, the door swung open and a woman with green hair hurried her in. "Were you followed?" Terry asked.

"No, I wasn't." Cynder replied.

"Good." Terry gave a breath of relief then sniffed, "Let me take you to your room…and I'll have them bring up some bathwater." she added.

Cynder was slightly offended, "Well its not like I had much of a choice, but your right, a bath would be nice." Terry yanked off the blanket and threw it in outside, "Aren't you worried that your workers or customers will recognize me?"

"Not at all,. The workers are not really workers," Terry leaned in and whispered, "we're all from the same order." Terry spoke in her normal tone, "And besides, we're closed for today." Terry led Cynder up to a bedroom, "The bathwater will be here soon."

Cynder was left alone, but not for long, Terry and another woman brought up a large wooden tub and two more men came in carrying two buckets, each, of hot water. After the two men poured the water into the tub they left, along with Terry and the other woman. After being sure that they left Cynder slid into the tub of hot water enjoying the warmth. Terry had brought scented soap, which Cynder was grateful for, and scrubbed her scales getting the stench off of herself. Cynder finished her bath and several hours past, _What is taking Chad?_ Cynder asked herself. Cynder stayed in her room, just in case anyone happened to stop at the inn. There was a knock at her door, "Come in." She said. Chad walked in, Terry behind him. Chad's armor was dented and had slashed marks in some places, Cynder smelt blood, "What happened?" Cynder asked concerned.

Terry snorted, "He blew his damn cover is what he did."

Chad sat down on a chair in the corner of the room. Chad sighed, "It was inevitable." Chad stripped his torso of his armor, "I could have gotten away if this crap wasn't slowing me down." he said gesturing to the armor on the floor.

"That may be true, but you could have escaped without blowing your cover." Terry said intensely, "Now we don't know where they are being held."

"Calm down." Chad said to Terry, "True, we still don't know where they are being held, but I know where they are going to be this afternoon."

"What are you saying?" Cynder asked, "Will someone explain to me what is going on?"

Terry and Chad looked at Cynder as if just noticing she was in the room. Chad rubbed his forehead, "Everyone had been taken prisoner, including my father, brother…and Spyro."

"I don't understand." Cynder said confused.

"That fat pig Alexander arrested them all." Terry began, "He claimed Ace was an imposter along with everyone else and had them hauled of to Ancestors know where. We have been trying to find them, but some one had to blow his cover." Terry said the last part to Chad.

Chad nearly fell of his chair Terry was so fierce, "I said I know where they will be this afternoon." Chad said calmly, "I got the information from a guard I…interrogated, before coming here. I can tell you right now, your not going to like it."

"Well out with it!" Terry asked forcefully.

Chad paused and looked to Terry, then to Cynder, then back to Terry, "Terry, there going to be dropped."

__

Ace woke up, he could feel that he had little to no manna, _Damn, they must have had another black gem_. Ace felt that his hands were bound behind his back and that he was suspended in the air. He struggled to open his eyes, he saw a crowd before him. He looked to his left and then to his right, he saw his young friends, hands bound and suspended like he was. He looked up, the ropes lead up to a wooden boom arm. Ace craned his neck to look behind himself, a black pit was not a foot behind him. _So that is how it is going to be._ Ace thought. A hand reached up to Ace's face and brought it to face it holder.

"Remember me?" it was Count Alexander. He was not a obese as he use to be, but he still had a respectable gut. Ace spit in his face, Alexander wiped the spit away, Ace had a grin on his face. Alexander struck Ace across the face, "You will respect me nave."

"Leave him alone!" Ace turned his head to see Owen struggling in his bindings, he had a feral look in his eyes.

"Quiet you!" Alexander yelled.

"How do you justify killing the Dragon of Legend?" Ace asked loudly.

The crowd quieted. Alexander chuckled, "Do you really believe that this is the Dragon of Legend?" Alexander threw his head back and laughed, "Everyone knows that the Dragon of Legend was killed over a year ago." Ace stayed quiet, Alexander lowered his voice, "You eluded me for four years, now you have the nerve to show your face again."

Ace looked Alexander in the eye, "A good king knows when he has made a mistake, a great king know how to fix that mistake."

Alexander smiled, "To bad you are neither, you are not half the man your father was, and that's not much considering who your father was."

"You take that back. My father was a good man." Ace said on the brink of anger.

"No, I wont." Alexander said victoriously, "What are you going to do about it?" Alexander pushed on Ace's forehead with his pointer finger, a costly mistake. Ace used the slight momentum and swung his body back, he came forward and brought his legs up and kicked Alexander in the stomach. Alexander stumbled back and stood back up, some people in the crowd cheered, Ace knocked the wind out of him. Alexander pulled out a dagger and walked up to Ace, "I'm going to enjoy this."

Ace lifted his head up, "Go ahead, you will expose me as Royal Blood if you spill mine."

Alexander addressed the crowd, "We are gathered here today to denounce these imposters." Some of the crowd booed, some of it cheered, "This is an act of treason against the Kingdom, and a mockery to the dead bloodline of the Royal Family."

"The only act of treason here is you!" Owen yelled.

"Quiet Owen." Ace whispered to Owen.

Alexander walked up to Ace holding the dagger up, he leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry Ben, I won't kill you like I did your father." Ace's eyes widened, "You don't deserve the death he got. You should have been there as his blood flowed from his neck. You should be proud of him though, he never complained as the last bit of life faded from his eyes" Alexander had a sinister smile on his face.

Ace's voice quivered, "You will pay for this." Alexander thrust the dagger into Ace's abdomen and pulled it out showing the crowd, the crowd cheered. Ace gasped as the air left his lungs, the wound was not healing, _So he knows our weakness_. Pain was far from Ace's mind, "Mark me Alexander! You and all of your followers will hang for this!"

There was a disturbance in the crowd, a black cloaked person drew a black blade that had a foreign handle. "Arrest him!" Alexander yelled, "He is working with this imposter!" A young black dragoness appeared out of a shadow, she was yelling something at the cloaked person. "And arrest the dragon, for serving the Dark Master."

Spyro burst out, "Run Cynder!" The wooden boom are swung over the pit, Cynder stayed put, "Please Cynder!" The executioner fingered the lever that would drop them, he started to pull it, "Cynder…" Spyro gasped, "I love you and nothing else will change that!" they dropped.

Ace closed his eyes, he hear Cynder scream Spyro's mane. _Why? Why did it end like this?_, Ace paused waiting for an answer, _Damn it! I know you are there, answer me! _Ace felt a jolt, they landed on ground, but it was sloped at a steep angle.

The Keeper of Fate's voice echoed in Ace's head, _This is the only way to kill it._

_What do you mean by 'it'?_ Ace asked.

There was a pause, Ace felt the wind on his face as he slid on the angled ground and heard the screams of his young friends. Fate replied, _There will be a vein of red gems to you left when you land. If you don't use them, you will die._

Ace was thankful for that information but wished for once that Fate would answer his questions when he asked them. _We should be at the bottom soon. _Ace yelled so everyone would hear him, "Brace yourselves.

__

"Damn it!" Chad swore, his father and friends had just been dropped, "Cynder we have to go, there is no point staying here."

Tears flowed down Cynder's face, "We have to something. We just can't leave them."

Chad and Cynder back towards a building, "Cynder, we can't help them from behind bars or if were dead." Cynder gathered her thoughts then nodded. Chad's free hand turned black, a hole appeared behind them and they jumped through. They were now on the inside of the building behind them. Chad's hand turned back to normal and the hole vanished.

"What do we do know?" Cynder asked.

Chad sheathed his sword and motioned Cynder to follow, "We need to get out of here."

_I wish he wasn't so vague all the time,_ Cynder thought. Chad lead her up to the top story of the house and he turned into a dragon.

"We have to split up," Chad paused as if trying to remember something, "We need to meet back here when its dark, in this building. Don't go back to Terry, find a place to hide for the time being." Cynder nodded.

There was a banding sound from downstairs, "Good luck." Cynder said, Chad nodded and leaped out of the window, Cynder followed and flew in the opposite direction of Chad.

__

Owen groaned, _That was some ride_. Owen looked around, it was dark, but he could see every detail around himself. He saw motionless bodies, "Is everyone alright?" Owen asked.

Even stood up and snapped his ropes like they were string and fumbled around in the dark, "I can't see a thing." Evan replied.

"Even, turn around and walk two paces." Owen directed, "Now break these ropes." Once Owen was free he untied the rest, Ty and Kim walked around examining the surroundings, everyone else ether stayed put or fumbled around in the dark.

"Owen." Ace coughed. Owen rushed to his fathers side and untied his rope, "To my left are some red gems, bring some here." Owen broke off a large piece and brought it to his father. Ace grabbed it and absorbed it, his wound healed and Ace gave an exhausted sigh.

"What happened?" Owen asked, "Why couldn't you heal?"

Ace shot up, "Shh!" everyone quieted down, "Do you hear that?" there was a faint sound, like something sliding on stone.

Owen saw a large figure pass by at the far of the narrow corridor in front of him. Jas clenched her head and whimpered, "Oh no."

"What is that?" Owen asked.

Ace replied with fear in his voice, "Basilisk."

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**Busy week, a little late, no time to talk. All in all, the usual. Next Chapter out soon.**


	27. Chapter 27

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**----------**

**Chapter 27: Basilisk**

Owen started to walk down the narrow corridor to get a better look at the Basilisk. Ace grabbed Owen's arm, "You don't want to do that."

"Why not?" Owen asked.

"Really Owen?" that sounded like Lan, "Even you should remember what a Basilisk is. A Basilisk is a…"

"A legendary reptile, said to have been hatched by a serpent from a rooster's egg, whose look or breath was supposed to be fatal." Owen interrupted, "I remember our Mythology class."

Lan walked up to Owen without stumbling despite the room being lightless, "Then why in the hell would you want to get a look at it? What if it sees you?"

Owen stared Lan in the eyes, "Because I can't die."

"No," Ace said bleakly, "you can."

"What do you mean?" Owen asked.

Ace fingered the hole in his shirt where he was stabbed, "What you say is true, in a way. Our bloodline shares immortal blood, we can heal all wounds and use the power of light, this is also true for…for you mothers side of the family." Ace paused, "There is one catch however, a loophole in this blessing. A mistake that should have never happened. This mistake is a curse."

After a pause Owen asked, "So what is the one weakness?"

"Like I said, it's a curse, or rather the curse is the weakness." Ace said in a riddle.

"What do you mean?" Owen asked eagerly.

"Don't you get it?" Lan asked Owen, "A curse, any curse, is your weakness." Owen stared blankly, "Let me explain."

_How can he read my expressions, or see anything for that matter?_ Owen wondered.

Lan raised his hand, "There are many magical bindings that can be placed on items," Lan counted them off with his fingers, "enchantments, charms, hexes, blessings, and curses. Enchantments are usually elemental magic and one element will counteract another, for example; a water enchanted item and a fire enchanted item will counteract each other rendering both enchantments useless. Charms effect an individual directly making them more skilled, stronger, or in some cases luckier. Hexes also effect an individual directly but are the opposite of charms. If a good luck charm and a bad luck hex are used against each other, for example, react in a ratio of zero good luck and zero bad luck."

"That is fine and all but what does that have to do with anything?" Owen asked impatiently.

"I was getting to that." Lan said, "The last two, blessings and curses, are the strongest of magical bindings and are not easy to make. A blessing is like a charm except it is stronger and are near impossible removed from an item, but it is permanent on a person. The same is true for a curse, the only difference is that it is a stronger version of a hex." Lan paused, "Now to the point of all of this explaining. You have a blessing upon you Owen, you and Ace, the strongest one that I have ever seen. But it is still just a blessing, a curse will counteract it and whatever was curses, a blade or an arrow for instance, will kill you."

Owen staggered back, he felt so vulnerable now, "So, what your saying is…"

"Your not immortal Owen." Lan answered interrupting Owen, "A cursed knife between the ribs will kill you as well as a non cursed one would kill me."

Owen fell backwards only to be caught by strong arms, it was his father, "That is why I asked you for the gems, I could not heal my wounds on my own." Ace said helping Owen stand on his feet.

Evan spoke up as Owen leaned against a wall, "So how exactly does the Basilisk's kill people?"

"I wouldn't know." Lan answered, "The mythology from our world and this one are similar, but some details are different. I don't know if the Basilisks sight or breath is deadly or what the effect is."

"this one kills with its sight." Ace replied, "If you meet its gaze you will turn to stone."

Evan grunted, "How cliché."

Ace ignored Evan, "It looks like a giant snake." Jas whimpered, "Is something wrong?" Ace asked.

"She hates snakes." Owen said pushing himself from the wall, he walked over to Jas and helped her up, "Come on Jas, its alright."

Jas leaned on Owen and whispered in his ear, "It was real, all of my dreams, this is the thing that was in my dreams." Owen's eyes widened with shock.

"Are you sure?" Owen whispered back and Jas nodded.

Owen saw Ember walk over to where he got the red gems, Owen had forgotten that Ember was dropped in this hole with them. She stopped at the gem deposit and broke off small fragments of the gems, "Milord, there are green gems here." Ember said to Ace.

"Good work Ember." Ace praised and walked over to Ember using the wall as a guide. Ace broke off a large piece and crushed it in his hand, the gems absorbed through his skin. To Owen's eye Ace no longer looked fatigued. A white light radiated from his hand. The light was so sudden that everyone, including Ace, was momentarily blinded, "Spyro, Owen, grab some gems then lets go."

Spyro walked up to the green gems and absorbed a good amount of them, as did Ember. Owen walked up to the gems and broke off a piece, "How exactly does this work?" Owen asked.

"Just break the gem in your hand and the rest in just instinct." Ace said breaking off another gem and quickly absorbed it.

Owen looked at the gem that he was holding, it felt fragile but also solid at the same time. Owen closed his hand on the gem breaking it into several pieces. The fragments barely had time to fall before they merged into his body, Owen felt alive and a warm feeling flew through his body from his head to his toes then back up to his body and out his hands. He no longer felt tired. Ace handed Owen another gem, Owen broke it and the sensation came again, this time Owen felt like he had just woken up and was full of energy.

Evan was gathering up pieces of wood half an arms length long and just big enough to fit comfortably in a hand. Evan tore off pieces of his shirt and wrapped them on the very end of each piece of wood. Digging in his pockets Evan pulled out a small round container and opened it. It was full of some kind of grease, Evan smeared the grease on the cloth at the end of one of piece of wood. Evan looked around for somethin, "Spyro can you light this?" Evan asked capping of the container of grease and tucking it back in his pockets. Spyro walked over and let a small flame escape from his maw setting the piece of cloth on fire, "This might give us a good hour of light, if that." The white light from Ace vanished leaving the eerie light from the torch remaining. "I got four more torches, so that give us about five hours of light."

"But there is also Ace and Owen, they can make light." Ty said peering down the narrow passageway.

Evan made his way to the passageway, "Yes but requires mana, and when their mana is gone they can't generate any light." Evan turned around to see most of his friends with a surprised look on his face, "Just because I work in a smithy doesn't mean I don't know how this realm works. What did you think I did in my spare time, beat on an anvil all day?" Evan paused, "On second thought, don't answer that."

Ace walked up to Evan and took the torch, "Stay close and try to make as little noise as possible, we don't want to attract the Basilisk." Ace turned and started walking down the narrow passageway then stopped, "One more thing, don't touch any statue that you see, I think that the ones who fell victim to the Basilisk are still alive. Maybe if we kill it, it will break the curse."

"Also," Lan added, "above all else, don't look into its eyes."

One by one everyone followed Ace out through the narrow corridor in to a much larger tunnel. Owen guided Jas by the arm, "Its ok Jas, you can open your eyes."

Jas shook her head, "No, this makes it easier to concentrate." answering a question that wasn't asked, "I can sense sentient creatures, I will be able to sense it before it sees us." Jas paused then blushed, "I'm sorry, I can't help reading a mind when my mind is fully open to the minds around me."

Owen lead Jas out of the narrow passageway and covered his mouth and nose with his free hand, "What is that smell?" Owen asked through his hand.

"That would be the sewer." Ace said holding the torch above his head, "These are the old catacombs that run under and around the city. They were rarely used, until Alexander started using them for executions, so they were converted into the cities sewer."

Jas gasped, Owen looked down at her, "What's the matter?"

Jas pointed forward, "Ace, are those the statues you were talking about?"

Ace held the torch in front of him, statues of dragons, humans, and elves littered the sides of the tunnel. Almost all had the expression of fear on their faces. Statues that were broken and whole and laid on the ground, other were leaned against the side of the tunnel as if pushed there. Ty picked up a head of a woman statue, Ty examined it before saying, "She is very beautiful."

"She is still alive." Jas said shakily.

Ty examined the head once more, a tear collected in the severed heads eyes before rolling down her face. Ty almost dropped the head, "Did you just see that?" he asked.

"This is a punishment far worse than death." Ace murmured.

"If they are still alive," Lan began, "then the only way to end their suffering is to kill the Basilisk, now I know why they were all wiped out. All except this one that is."

Evan spoke up, "I don't want to be down here when the curse is broken." Evan received questioning looks from his friends, "Think about it, the broken statues will turn to flesh and…" Evan shuddered, "and I don't want to think about it."

"So all of the broken statues are as good as dead?" Ty asked disappointedly, "Isn't there a way to put them back together?"

"No there isn't." Lan answered, "Well, that is not entirely true. The victims of a Basilisk can be put back together with the Basilisk's tears. Only there is one problem, Basilisks don't cry."

Ty looked down at the head remorsefully, "Don't be so sure." Ace said, "This is no ordinary Basilisk, it was once human. Hopefully, it still has its human heart and cried a few tears over the centuries."

"What do they look like?" Ty asked.

"It is kind of a grey paste, they never dry out for one, so if this 'human' Basilisk cried they should still exist." Lan answered knowledgably.

"You mean like this?" Owen asked showing the bottom of his boot.

Lan examined the paste on Owen's boot, "That looks like it, though I have only read about it. They aren't easy to come by."

Ty got on his knees and started sorting through the pile of body parts, "What are you doing?" Ace asked.

"I am going to save as many people as I can." Ty said without looking up.

Ace grabbed Ty by the arm pulling him up, "Don't be a fool, you'll never fix all of them, and even if you could you might fall prey to the Basilisk yourself."

"I don't care!" Ty said forcefully, "You can't stop me."

"Brother?" Kim asked caringly, "Brother, why are you really doing this?"

Ty ran his fingers though his hair before saying, "Our father was dropped down here along with other werewolves, I want to save them before the curse is broken."

Kim gasped, Ace nodded, "I understand. Come on, lets go."

"We can't just leave him here." Kim protested.

Ty walked up to Evan, "Take care of my sister if I don't make it out of here." Ty paused, "Make sure that she gets out of here in one piece."

"I promise." Evan agreed.

"No, I won't leave you." Kim whimpered.

"Kim." Evan said, "Lets go."

Kim shook her head, "I won't leave him to die."

Evan clapped his hands on Kim's shoulders, "Listen to me, we can either walk out of this together, or I will bind and gag you and carry you out."

Kim glared at Evan who had a stone cold stare, Km sighed, "Alright." Kim faced her brother and gave him a hug, "Just please be careful."

"I will." Ty said hugging her back before releasing her. Ace handed Ty the torch, "I don't need that." gesturing to his eyes.

"Lets go." Ace ordered, "We wasted to much time already." As Ty faded from the light of the torch Ace wondered whether he made the right decision.

__

It was a few hours after dark and most of the city was asleep. Cynder was perched on a roof top trying not to be seen. The moon's shown in the sky, they were not yet full, but they still dimly lit the streets of the city. Cynder peered over the side of the building to see if any guards were patrolling past the building. The coast was clear. Cynder glided from the rooftop to the open window of the building across the street. As Cynder folded her wings she heard, "Your late." Cynder nearly jumped. Chad was sitting on the bodies of two guards, one on top of another. "I had to knock out these guys twice."

"Are there any other guards?" Cynder asked curiously.

Chad got up and walked to the stairs leading down to the first floor, "Yes, but they are outside." Chad nodded his head for Cynder to follow. As they were walking down Chad said, "The guards stationed around the pit. We need to take them out."

"How are we going to do that? An alarm will surly sound if we're seen." Cynder stated.

Chad stopped at the wall they passed though when they escaped earlier, "Then we won't be seen." Chad crouched on the floor and pulled out a piece of paper with a drawing on it, "There are guards stationed all around the perimeter of the pit." There was a large black dot in the center of the paper with X's scattered on the paper, "This will take very precise timing, when I open a Dark Rift it will take us on the other side of this wall."

"Wait a minute." Cynder interrupted, "What is a Dark Rift?"

Chad sighed, "Remember when that black hole that brought us though the wall?" Cynder nodded, "That is a Dark Rift, I can make a hole in one point and open another close by. If something goes though one it comes out of the other and vice versa." Chad paused, "You will take out the guard here," Chad pointed to an X close to a box that represented the building they were in, "I will then take out these two guards and make my way to this one." Chad pointed at different X's on the left side of the paper, "You will take out these three and make your way to the pit. Don't get spotted." Chad added, "If you do I will open a Dark Rift under you and bring you next to me. When that is done we will take out the guards on the platform by the pit. After that we will proceed." Chad grabbed the piece of paper up, "Got it all."

"Yea, I think so." Cynder sounded uncertain.

"I hope so." Chad said, he then placed his hand on the wall behind them and his hand turned pitch black, next a black hole, for that is the only way to describe it, appeared. It as large enough to fit a full grown man, "Ready?" Chad asked, Cynder nodded and she stepped through the hole.

Cynder appeared on the other side of the wall outside. Cynder looked behind her waiting for Chad to step through but the hole grew smaller and vanished. _Why isn't he…no, I have to stick to the plan._ There was a guard a few paces away from Cynder. She crept up behind him, Cynder let a red orb a fear escape from her maw. The guard froze in his tracks and lowered himself to the ground clenching his head. Cynder then walked up to him and breathed a green mist in his face, Cynder didn't think Chad wanted the guards dead and she didn't want to kill them anyways. The green mist was a variation of her Poison Breath, she had learned how to weaken the intensity of the poison to make it into a potent knock out gas. The guard collapsed to the ground and Cynder made her way to her next targets and dispatched them the same way. After all of her targets were unconscious she concealed herself in shadow and made her way to the platform around the pit.

Cynder was about to stun a guard with fear when the ground beneath the guard opened into a black hole and he fell into it. The other two guards noticed that their friend fell though the ground and saw her as well. Before they could say so much as a word Cynder breathed a large could of knock out gas, the guards dropped where they stood.

"Nice work." Cynder whirled around to see Chad standing outside the gas cloud, "Could you get rid of this stuff now?"

Cynder nodded, "Just a minute." A cyclone came from Cynder's mouth blowing the knock out gas away. Chad stepped onto the platform, "What now?" Cynder asked.

Chad's hand was still pitch black, "Now we go in."

"You can't be serious." Cynder retorted.

Chad climbed on top of the stone slab that covered the pit, "I am, and if you don't want to follow me I understand. But I could really use the help."

Cynder paused for a minute weighing the pros and cons, the pros won, "Fine, I'll come, but how are we suppose to see down there? I doubt it is lit down there." Chad placed his hand on the slab and a small black hole appeared, with his free hand he reached in an pulled out some rope. "You can't be serious."

"Do you have any better ideas?" Chad asked, "If we bring a light down there that will lead the Basilisk right to us."

"There's a Basilisk down there!" Cynder exclaimed.

"Yes, there is, the last one in existence." Chad held one end of the rope to Cynder, "So, you got any better ideas?"

"No." Cynder said reluctantly. Chad tied one end of the rope around Cynder's neck, below her choker, and the other end around his waste, "I feel like a dog." Cynder complained, Chad shrugged his shoulders. He placed his pitch black hand on the slab once more and a black hole opened beneath them, they fell though the hole and passes on thought to the other side of the slab.

__

"Do you think Ty is alright?" Kim asked Evan.

"I'm sure he's fine." Evan answered, _I really hope he is,_ Evan thought to himself. They had been walking for hours with no sign of the Basilisk, that was one thing to be grateful for. Evan carried only three torches under his arm now, the first died out about an hour and a half ago, and the one that was lit now looked like it was about to go out. "Maybe we should change torches now." Evan suggested.

Ace stopped and looked at the torch, "I suppose your right." Evan held out one of the torches for Ace to light. Evan was almost out of grease, he wasn't sure there would be enough for another two torches. "Come on, lets keep moving."

"Where are we going anyways?" Owen asked leading Jas by the arm.

"I memorized the layout of this labyrinth in hopes of one day killing the beast." Ace answered, "I discovered that the only way to get out of this cursed place is to follow the red path."

"What does that mean?" Evan asked.

"Shh!" Owen announced, everyone stopped and didn't make a sound, "Did you hear that?"

There was a hissing sound that faintly echoed down the tunnel. Jas gasped, "It is right behind us."

"Everybody run!" Ace yelled. The hiss was louder this time and the group bolted after Ace. There was the sound of scales on stone that made a grinding slither. None of them dared to look back.

Evan had grabbed Kim's hand when they started to run. The next thing that happened was what Evan feared the most at the moment, Kim's hand was pulled out of his.

"Evan!" Kim called, "Evan help me!"

Evan froze and his mind raced, _What do I do? If I go and save her she might make it, but if I do I could wind up a statue myself._

"Evan!" Kim shrieked. No, this wasn't a time to think, this was a time to act.

Evan closed his eyes and turned around running as fast as he could, not knowing when he was going to run headfirst into the Basilisk. Evan held out his hands ready to grab whatever was in front of him, his hands met what felt like scales, he pushed with all of his might. "Run Kim!"

"Evan get out of there!" Ace yelled. Evan heard running footsteps coming towards his direction, "Come on Kim get up." Ace urged, "Now run! Oh sweet Ancestors. Follow the red path!" Ace yelled, "Follow the re…" Ace's voice slowed then stopped entirely.

"Evan run!" Kim shouted.

Evan felt his feet slid on the ground and heard an angry hiss, "Just get out of here, forget about me."

"I won't leave you." Kim whimpered.

"Owen, get her out of here." Evan called, he didn't know how long he could hold the Basilisk off.

"Let me go!" Kim protested, "I won't leave him! Let me go!"

"I got her Evan." Owen said to Evan, his voice echoed off the walls.

Evan heard faint footsteps running away from him along with Kim's protesting screams. _I have to buy some time for them_, Evan thought. He dug in trying to push the Basilisk back, it was no use, the Basilisk was moving him back faster and faster. "There is no use." Evan said hopelessly, "Lets see what you look like you overgrown garden snake." Evan opened his eyes, all he could see was two glowing yellow disks that had a black slit down the center of them, the rest was darkness. Evan started to feel stiff and though to himself, _I don't want to be a statue in a stupid pose,_ Evan rearranged himself so that he was standing straight with his right hand outstretched. He never showed fear on his face but instead a cold stare that was meant for the Basilisk. Evan couldn't move and his vision dimmed to a shade of grey, the only way he could tell this was that the Basilisks eyes turned grey, to his eyes at least. Evan stopped moving, the Basilisk no longer had angry eyes, they looked sad, what looked like tears welled up in the creatures eyes. The Basilisk pushed Evan to the side of the tunnel, Evan saw the two grey disk turn down the tunnel towards his friends. _I hope that they will break the curse, _Evan thought to himself in his shell.

----------

**Sorry that this one is a little late. Spring Break started a few days ago and I have been packing for a trip that my friends and I have been planning for months. Aside from that I got a little behind in my work so that came in priority over this. My education is very important to me. Anyways I will be away for about two weeks and I doubt that I will work on this story where we're going so don't expect a Chapter out anytime soon. So see you all around and thanks to all of the readers for following me this far. Enjoy spring break everyone (If you are having it now or soon) and see you later!**


	28. Chapter 28

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**Chapter 28: Sacrifice**

Lan was running down the long, large, tunnel with the remainder of his friends running next to him. It would be normally dark to any normal human, but Lan's senses were enhanced as a side effect of his Shaping ritual. Whole and broken statues lined the side of the tunnel and occasionally a grey pool would be seen at the feet of some statues. Those were Basilisk tears, _If this Basilisk has emotions that means that it wasn't always this way,_ Lan thought, _That means that it is not a Basilisk but a cursed mortal…If I hade more time I could dispel it._ Lan wanted to peer over his shoulder but dared not to for fear of turning to stone, _The only other option is to delay it, now if I could only remember the spell. What was it? Impeermalis pertree? Impenetrabiil parris? I remember now._ Lan pointed his right hand behind himself and yelled, "Impenetrabiilis parietis!" There was a shine of blue light from behind Lan that radiated from his palm and then there was the loud sound of stone shifting and rock crushing. Lan skidded to a halt, "That should buy us some time." He turned around to see his handy work. The one thing Lan liked about magic was that you don't always know what will happen even if you used the spell before. To Lan's amazement the spell seemed to extend the bricks of the tunnel and merge creating a wall, the bricks had a bluish tint to them giving off some light.

"What did you do?" Owen asked walking up next to Lan.

Lan placed a hand on the wall, "I put some space between us and the Basilisk." There was a loud thud sound from the other side of the wall followed by a muffled hissing roar.

"It doesn't sound like it liked what you did." Owen joked.

"No, I would suspect not." Lan replied in a slightly humored tone.

"So where do we go from here?" Spyro asked.

Lan took a few steps forward, "We follow the red path." Lan held up his hand, "Lux Lucis." a light blue sphere hovered above his hand lighting up the immediate area. Half way up the wall of the tunnel there was a red line about two feet thick running down both sides of the tunnel, "That is what Ace said to do."

"So we are just suppose to leave my father, Evan, and Ty here with that thing?" Owen demanded.

Lan turned to Owen, "That is exactly what we are going to do Owen. This Basilisk is a cursed mortal, and a curse is a magical binding, I only wish I could have gotten a glimpse of the beast to know how to dispel it. When we get out of here I will do just that."

"I thought you said Curses can't be broken and besides how would you have known how to break it by just looking at it?" Owen demanded again.

Lan shook his head, "You know so little about magic but you use it every day." Owen scowled at Lan, "First off I said that Curses are not easily broke, although they can be counteracted by other spells if they cannot be removed." Lan gave a small smirk, "Luck for you yours prevents that." Lan paced the floor, "Also, as you may not know, all creatures with magic can see magical auras and can therefore determine what the aura means. You probably don't know how to do this yet but auras tend to be shrouds of color and or shapes in various combinations. If I now, for instance, would look at your's I would describe it as; a golden halo above your head with large white feathery wings on your back all giving off a near blinding white light, dragon claws and fangs in respected areas and dragon wings on your back giving off a slight gold glow, a wolfs tail and ears and claws in respected areas with your body covered in fur and your head resembling a wolfs, and a black circle in the center of your chest, I am still trying to figure out." Owen covered up the center of his chest by crossing his arms, "This may sound very overwhelming, but looking at an aura is just like looking at a persons eyes or ears or nose, you have to be looking at it to see it."

"That's fine and all but I still am not leaving them behind." Owen said forcefully, "And you can't stop me."

"You stubborn fool, you do realize that we will be turned to stone ourselves if we don't get out of here." Lan said half irritated half understanding, _I know we should get everyone out of here including those turned to stone, but we can't save them if we are turned to stone_.

"That is why I want you to get everyone out of here." Owen said calmly.

Jas stepped forward and pleaded, "You can't stay here by yourself. You'll be turned to stone for sure."

Owen gave a weak laugh, "And that is the inevitable truth, I will be turned to stone." Jas was about to say something but Owen silenced her with a wave of his hand, "Lan, your right, I don't know anything about magic, but you do. You are the best bet for the rest to get out, I leave them in your care."

Lan was confused, _One moment he is acting like a stubborn child, the next he is being a responsible adult…I suppose it is to be expected, he is realizing his Royal duties._ Lan looked at the rest of their party, only a handful was left; Jas, Spyro, Ember, and Kim. Lan faced Owen.

"Do I have your word? Will you get them all out?" Owen asked.

_He is truly turning into Royalty, no, that isn't like Owen, he is turning into more of a leader than a King or Prince._ Lan nodded, "You have my word, I will get them all out of here no matter the cost. Can I ask one thing though? What are you planning to do?"

Owen shuffled his boot through broken stone and pulled out a sword with a half broken blade leaving a jagged and wicked edge. "I am going to kill it, and if I can't do that, I might as well buy time for the rest of you." Owen pointed down the tunnel with the broken blade, "There is a fork in the tunnel down there, you will follow the red path out of here and I will stay and guard the fork. Do not try to come after me, no matter what happens keep on the red path."

"You have my word." Lan promised, "Lets go everyone, break times over, we need to move." he ordered to the rest of the group.

They landed with a thud, "Oh my tail." Cynder moaned.

"I thought it was fun." Chad said humorously then groaned, "I think I hit my head on the way down."

"I thought you said it was fun?" Cynder retorted.

Cynder heard Chad dust himself off, "Its called sarcasm."

There were some sparks and the room was filled with a eerie red light, Chad was holding a small rod with red unsteady flame erupting from one end. "I thought the Royal Family couldn't use magic."

Chad laughed as if she made a joke, "Its not magic, its called technology." Chad held out the rod, "This is an invention from my world, its called a flare." Chad moved to a small passageway, "Come on, these things don't last long."

"How long do they last?" Cynder asked.

Chad paused, "Not long enough." Chad lead first down the narrow passageway that opened up into a much larger tunnel.

"This place is huge." Cynder said in astonishment, "How are we going to find them?"

Chad knelt to the to ground as if looking for something, his hand landed in a grey paste, "Found it."

"Found what?"

"Look." Chad held out his hand showing the grey paste.

"What is it?"

Chad stood up and wiped his hand on the wall, "It is how we are going to find them. Come on we have to hurry." Chad turned left following a trail of grey paste at running speed.

Cynder was dragged behind barely able to keep up, "Slow down, I can't keep up pace with this rope around my neck!"

Chad drew his sword and cut the rope from around Cynder's neck without missing a step, "Then fly." Chad replied sheathing his sword.

Cynder leapt into the air and took flight, _He almost took my head off, he could have given me some warning._ Cynder followed above and Chad led on the ground. Cynder began to lose her sense of time and direction from all of the twists and turns they made. Chad had to light up four more of the flares in the time they ran. Chad abruptly stopped and Cynder had to double back to land next to him.

"What's wrong? Why did we stop?" Cynder asked. Chad held up the flare and Cynder gasped, "So where are the rest of them?"

Chad shook his head, "Don't know. Probably out in the tunnels somewhere."

Cynder looked back up at the statues that stood before them. One was undoubtedly and unfortunately Ty with his dagger held out in front of himself in a fighting pose. There was another statue behind him, this one was a striking resemblance to Ty only that the man of the statue seemed older and rougher looking, also this man had wolves ears, like Ty, a wolves tail poking out of the back of his trousers and a mane of fur that came down the chest forming a V. In contrast to the emotion showed on Ty's face the man behind him seemed quite calm.

"Do you think that's Ty's father?" Cynder asked.

Chad shrugged his shoulders, "Probably, they look identical." there was the sound of cracking stone, "Run!" Chad turned and ran down the way they were heading before they stopped. Cynder was following close behind in the air, "Whatever you do don't look behind, it will be the last thing you do." A dim light was visible a long ways down the tunnel."

"Alright, this is the fork in the tunnel I was talking about." Owen said addressing the group, "I will stay here and guard the rear."

"Then we will follow the red path." Lan replied, "Lets go, were wasting time."

"Wait, how do you even know that it will pass this way?" Spyro asked.

"It will." Owen said not giving a reason to his answer, _It will right?_ Owen asked to himself.

There was a pause of silence, _Yes, it is already on it way_. The Keeper of Fate's voice echoed in Owen's head.

"You better hurry." Owen told the rest of his friends.

Lan gathered everyone and told them his plan of getting out safely. Jas walked over to Owen, "Why are you throwing your life away?" Jas pleaded.

"I'm not throwing it away." Owen replied, "I'm saving thousands more by stalling that beast from getting the rest of you."

"But you will be turned to stone, you said it yourself. I won't leave you behind, what if the Basilisk crushes you as a statue, what if…" Jas ranted on.

Owen tried to get a word in, "Jas that won't…If you'll just let me…Can I just…Won't you let me…" Owen was getting frustrated, he put a finger to her lips, "Jasmine, I promises you that nothing bad will happen."

"Owen I…" Owen leaned in interrupting Jas with a kiss on the lips.

"Jas, you know that I always keep my promises."

"I'm scared." Jas whimpered and leaned her head on his chest.

Owen was taken off guard at first then wrapped his arms around her, "I know, but you have to be brave, especially in the time to come." Jas pulled away from Owen's chest and gave a questioning look. Owen guided Jas over to the group, "Remember, don't turn back, don't look back, and everyone will make it out alive." As Jas stepped away from Owen she gave him a mournful look.

_It's here_, Fate echoed in Owen's head.

Owen heard the patter of footsteps and the flapping of wings followed by a slither of scales on stone. Owen turned to the group, "Everyone move!"

Owen saw Chad slide to a halt next to him, "Cynder follow the others! Leave this to us!" Chad yelled. Chad drew his sword and Owen held up his broken one.

"You know what the outcome will be don't you?" Owe asked his brother.

Chad paused, "If everything goes according to plan none of us will die." Chad closed his eyes and charged at the Basilisk.

Lan ran down the tunnel taking the lead of the group. The blue tinted orb hovered above his head, _Damn it! I thought that we had more time._ Lan thought. He then remembered what Owen said him privately not that long ago_, "No matter what you have to make sure the Basilisk won't get out."_

"_What about you?" Lan asked._

_Owen shook his head, "I'll find my own way out, assuming I can move. Just block any exit that you find."_

"_Owen, there is only one exit." Lan retorted._

"_I know." Owen replied._

Lan didn't like the thought but he had no other choice, when they got out, Lan would put a seal on the exit to give the Mage's Council trouble dispelling. There was a thought, although it would probably take most if not all of his remaining mana. _I just need more time, if I only had my spell book, then I would be able to try removing the Curse…no time for that now. I have to get it back first, and I don't have the slightest idea where it is._ They ran for what seemed hours, but Lan knew better. Lan would glance up at the wall to make sure the red line was still there but when he looked up there was no red line. Lan stopped and doubled back.

"What's the matter? Why did we stop?" Ember asked.

Lan shook his head, "The red path seems to just stop." Lan walked back down the tunnel and found the red line, "Right here, it stops here, but why?"

"Lan," Lan turned to Jas who stepped forward, "there are no statues here."

He looked around but no statues we to be seen, "Why is that?" Lan asked himself. He looked up where the red line ended then looked below it but it just looked like the tunnel wall.

"Are we going to die?" Kim asked from behind Lan.

Lan shuddered and Kim's fear slowly crept into him, _Will we die?_ he asked himself, _Will it be my fault, just because I was not strong enough to protect them._ Lan looked behind himself and saw worry and fright on his friends faces, _If they die it will be my fault._ Lan braced his hand on the wall and fell to his knees, "I have failed." Lan whispered, the sound Lan dreaded to hear touched his ears, a hissing roar. "I have failed." he repeated, he wanted to cry. Lan felt the wall and something felt different about it, a glimmer of hope sparked deep inside Lan. The wall we imbued with magic, Lan prodded with his mana and found that he didn't need to seal off the exit, someone had already done it before him. Lan rose to his feet and placed both hands on the wall and closed his eyes, _Now think, how can I open up a hole big enough for us to get though…Damn! If only I had my spell book._ Lan rattled his mind for the right spell but couldn't think of one.

The hissing roar sounded again, only louder this time, "If your going to do something do it now, its getting closer!" Spyro urged.

Lan shook his head, _I can't think of anything,_ It was at that time Lan remembered what Hector once told him.

"_You don't need a bloody spell book to cast spells, it is more of a journal for the discoveries and spell ingenuity of Mages though out the ages and then passed down to the next. Your mind holds the knowledge of Vetus Lingua, not some dust old book."_

Lan's eyes shot open and he began stringing together a phrase in Vetus Lingua that may seem like gibberish to anyone but a Mage but was in fact a complex spell that might just work. Lan was feeling the onset of fatigued as the spell grew longer, but he kept up the incantation and a faint blue light appeared between his hands and widened into a small hole that burrowed past the magic wall. Lan looked back at his friends and motioned them to enter with his head, for that was the only free part of his body at the moment, not once missing a word or stopping the incantation. Once all of his friends were on the other side of the wall Lan stopped his incantation, everyone but him that is. The hole we considerably large, almost half as high and wide as the tunnel itself, _This isn't good, the hole is to big, If I leave it like this the Basilisk will get though._

Jas gasped and screamed, "Run Lan, its right behind you!"

Lan panicked, on one hand he could run thought the hole he made but at the cost of letting the Basilisk though, on the other hand he could negate his spell that he used to create the hole, since he knew how he made it, but risk being turned to stone. He either risked his friends or himself, _If I let that thing though my friends will end up as statues, although I may be the only one who can dispel the Curse._

"Lan get out of there!" Spyro yelled.

Lan looked at his friends and he knew what he had to do Lan took a step back and snapped his fingers at the hole, "Solvo!" The hole that he made shrunk extremely fast and he heard Jas scream in protest, but it we to late. Lan heard the Basilisk rise behind him and he acted on instinct, he spun around and clapped his hands together and yelled, "Tutus tutela!" The Basilisk was going to crush Lan with it's head but Lan put up his Safe Guard just in time. The Basilisk's head rebounded off an invisible shield and it's gaze met Lan's. Lan stared in fear and astonishment, _The Curse can only be broken though the destruction of the Basilisk itself, it has to be killed regardless._ Lan felt his body growing stiff and soon as unable to feel anything at all, the light that Lan had summoned flickered but remained lit, his vision turned to shades of grey. _Strange, this is almost like a stasis, although my light is shining I feel no draining on mana. I have to look into this if I ever get out. _The Basilisk slithered away once Lan had turned completely to stone.

_Lan? _The sound in his head startled him, it sounded like Jas.

_Jas, is that you? _Lan asked inside his head.

A wave of emotion flowed over Lan, although it wasn't his, it was a mixture of happiness and relief, _Oh thank heavens your alright, it that thing gone?_

_Yes it is, although there is a problem, I'm stone._ Lan though out, fright and sorrow flowed over Lan, _Jas, I need you to do something for me. It is still not to late to save everyone._ A wave of hope trickled from Jas to Lan, _I need you to go to the castle and find a mage named Hector, he will help, just explain what happened. I'm sure that he'll understand. You must hurry though, he has a strong relationship with the Royal Family, it is possible that he may be a wanted man._

_I understand, but what if the Basilisk finds us?_ Jas asked.

Lan would have shook his head if he could have but he thought his emotion made it to Jas, _This tunnel leads to the exit, no other tunnel connects with it, just follow it out. Kim should be able to lead if it is to dark to see…Our lives are in your hands Jasmine._

There was a pause, _You can count on me Lan, I won't let you down._

The withdrawal was almost a mental shock to Lan as Jas's consciousness left his, suddenly he realized how alone he was. _I hope they don't take to long._ He thought to himself.

**Finally, I finished this chapter. On normal circumstances it wouldn't have taken so long but I was busy with academic activities. To clarify, we had a performance or a "play" if you will and I was busy with practice on week days on top of my homework and studying. I don't want to get the wrong message across but I work with the lights, mikes, and other behind stage things. I couldn't act to save my life and I can't say that I want to. Not that there is anything wrong with acting, that is not what I am saying, its just that acting is not for me and if others can do it and are good at it I think they might have a very successful carrier ahead of them.**


	29. Chapter 29

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**Chapter 29: The Trade of the Assassin**

Kim couldn't believe what just happened; one of the most powerful people that she had ever known had just been lost. She surveyed the tunnel and her friends, the tunnel seemed to stretch on beyond her vision, as for her friends they seemed as tired and as distressed as she felt. Jas was kneeling by the wall where the hole had closed, Spyro and Cynder were curled around each other whispering softly, Ember was not one pace away from Kim and had her head down muttering softly. Jas stood up and Kim felt a light brush on her consciousness, so soft she hardly even noticed it. Kim often felt the same feeling when she would be in the Castle's library in the early afternoon. Jas approached Kim.

"I just talked with Lan, he says this tunnel is a straight shot out of her." Jas started, "You are the only one out of us that can see in the dark, you have to lead us out."

Kim was startled at first then said, "You made your way to me just fine, why can't you lead us out?" Kim then first noticed that Jas's eyes were closed.

"Only because I could sense you, I could not find you in the dark if I could not." Jas explained.

Kim had just realized that Jas had more power then she first anticipated and shuddered at the thought, "I understand," Kim said levelly, "it looks like a straight path out, though I could be wrong." A trickle of gratitude brushed over Kim though it was not her emotion and she shuddered at it touch. There was also a weak sense of fear also made its way to Kim, she realized that it Jas's emotion, but Jas was not afraid of what just happened or what might, but that Jas was afraid of Kim. She did not know why but the emotion was clear, Kim reached out her hand and hesitated before putting her hand on Jas's shoulder, Jas flinched, "Don't worry, I'll get us out of here." Kim comforted, and then added, "Nothing bad will happen, I promise."

Jas gave a weak smile and whispered, "Thank you."

Kim grabbed Jas's hand and addressed the remaining survivors, "Let's get out of here. Use the wall as a guide and stay close." Kim lead Jas forward in the center of the tunnel as the three dragons used the wall for direction.

Time seemed to stretch on as they walked through the never ending tunnel, but to Spyro it was worth it for he had been reunited with his love. "Cynder." he whispered.

"What?" she asked.

"I…I'm sorry for before…before all of this. I was acting like a fool, and I don't want to lose you again." Spyro apologized.

"You said that already and you shouldn't be. I was the one who left, not you." Cynder protested. Spyro felt Cynder brush up against him, "Why won't you let me say sorry?"

"Because it's my fault." Spyro began, "If I wasn't so thickheaded this never would have happened."

Spyro felt Cynder stop and did the same, "You always were too hard on yourself. Spyro, I am just as much as fault as you are, if you weren't so thickheaded you would see that."

"But it was my fault, and it was all because…"

Cynder interrupted Spyro with a kiss, "You talk too much." Cynder said impishly.

"Spyro! Cynder!" Kim's voice echoed, "You're falling behind."

Spyro and Cynder continued walking and Cynder nuzzled Spyro's neck, "I'm glad that were together again."

Spyro wrapped his wing around Cynder, "Me too Cynder, and I won't let anything separate us again."

"I'll hold you to it." Cynder cooed.

The eternity of walking was worth it with Cynder under his wing, but eternity ended to soon when Kim said, "I think I see an exit." Not that many paces later Kim had stopped the group. Spyro head the rattling of doors trying to be opened, "They won't budge." Kim complained.

"Let me try." Jas insisted. After a few minutes of silence Jas said, "I don't understand, there are no locks on this door, not even a bar on the other side."

"But how is that possible?" Spyro wondered.

"I'm not sure, but the door is locked without any locks." Jas replied.

"Maybe there is something on the door that needs to be moved to open it, or perhaps directions?" Ember suggested.

"Actually there is." Kim responded, "There is a big circle that is split in half where the doors meet, inside the circle is an image of a stone or a rock with a chipped off side."

Spyro spoke up joyously, "That is the symbol for Earth maybe that is how it is opened!"

"It's worth a shot." Jas agreed.

"Alright, stand back!" Spyro ordered. He harnessed the power of Earth and focused it, a green sphere formed in front of Spyro's maw giving off a green light. Spyro aimed at the door and released the energy, the sphere impacted the symbol and the doors stayed put. Spyro's heart sank but was quickly rose when he heard the doors open on squeaky hinges. Light flowed in from the outside and Spyro breathed in deep fresh air.

"You did it Spyro!" Cynder cheered.

Spyro smiled, "Yeah, I guess I did." He walked outside, and to his amazement, they were walking out of a hillside. "Where are we?" he asked himself as his friends filed past him.

Jas answered, "Come look over here." Jas was standing on the hilltop above the exit.

Spyro made it to the top of the hill with Cynder and gasped. The Regnum of Lux lucis was miles away, "The tunnel lead straight out of the city. We were walking all night." Spyro said in astonishment.

"How are we suppose to get back in?" Ember asked.

"We walk." Jas replied.

"That is not what I meant," Ember retorted, "the city is probably under guard, how are we suppose to get past them?"

Cynder agreed, "Embers right, last night before Chad and I entered the labyrinth there were guards everywhere."

Spyro sighed, "Then what do we do?"

"I…I might know of a way in." Kim hesitated, "Before anybody gets their hopes up I don't even know if it exists anymore or if it will work."

"There is no way in." Ember protested, "I know the city in and out and all of the entries that I can think of are guarded."

Kim gave a small grin, "Like I said if it still exists it will lead us inside."

"And if it doesn't?" Cynder asked.

Kim's grin grew into a smile, "Then we have to fight our way in."

Jas, as if remembering something, walked to the exit of the tunnel and raised both of her hands and slowly brought them together, here scars on her right for arm glowed blue. The doors shook and creaked but slowly closed. "No point in leaving it open." She answered when her friends gave her awkward looks.

Spyro yawned, "I think we should move after some sleep, we were running half the night and walked the rest." he didn't wait for a reply, Spyro curled up by a tree next to the doors. Apparently his friends took his advice because they settled down in separate place, except for Cynder, she curled up next to Spyro. He welcomed her company as he fell into a deep sleep.

He had waited all night for a means to an end, but he still had no means to that end. This may be because he never asked, there was just one problem, and it was that he couldn't ask someone a question who wasn't there. The sun had peaked through the windows of bone and flesh causing the Nightwalkers to either leave or hide in the shadows. He surveyed his surroundings once again from the wall he leaned in, he was in a large room made of flesh that didn't bleed and bone that didn't break, easily. Windows dotted the walls in a symmetrical arrangement that allowed few shadows and with every passing minute the shadows shrank. In the center of the room was a bone hand that supported a crystal ball though the hand was much too large to be a humans.

The room would have been called lonely had he been the only one in the room. He knew them all by name but he guessed nobody knew his. Sprawled out and unconscious on the floor was Paul, memories of training with Paul were still fresh in his mind but nothing to think or care about. Paul was all brawn and no brain, although if he actually hit someone with an Earth attack they could be in major trouble. Sitting in a chair brought to her by a Nightwalker was Catharine Arcaro who was the daughter of a noble, she was also the daughter of an Order of the Dragon member but she refused to be apart of active training. Rumors say that Catharine was a very adept acrobatic and could use it flawlessly with her element of electricity. The one reading his book was Kenneth of the Red Mages, it was a wonder why Ken was there at all, Mages usually don't deal with the Dark Arts and those who do are banished from the Mage's Society. Despite that fact Ken was also a member of the Order but he could use magic other than his fire element.

Axel closed his eyes, nothing had changed since the last time he surveyed his surroundings. He had been trying to figure out why they were summoned, they were all apart of the Order of the Dragon but Axel suspected that there was something more to it than that. Axel heard footsteps approaching from down the hall he was leaned next to and opened his eyes. A pale man with long jet black hair walked past him and into the room and looked around. Axel pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to Paul and gave him a good shack, Paul groaned in reply. Axel then walked over to Ken, they exchanged uneasy glances.

"I am glad that you all could make it on such short notice. My name is Nexus and I have something you all want." Axel shifted and Nexus gave a wicked smile, "I can understand if you are uneasy, but I need the help of all of you and in return I will fulfill any desire that you request. Although I can already know what your desires are."

Catharine stood up and marched over to Nexus, "You expect us to help you after you made us wait here all night?" she demanded.

Nexus smiled and touched Catharine's face with his hand, Catharine gasped, "Of course Miss Arcaro that is if you want to get back that which was stolen from you." Nexus removed his hand and addressed the rest of them, "Your choice is your own, you can help me or not but you must choose now." Nexus smiled when he looked at Axel.

"You conniving bastard." Axel muttered, "You will have me in your cause, though I don't have a choice." Axel kept his voice cool and level, it was not his fault but a hard life has made him this way.

Ken closed his book with a sharp crack, "I will help you is you will help me." Axel noticed that Ken was gripping his staff hard.

"As will I." Catharine replied.

Paul staggered up and blinked repeatedly trying to focus, "I will do anything to get my hands on that little runt. Just name it."

Nexus pointed to the crystal ball in the center of the room, "Place your hands on that if you really want to help me."

"What will happen when we do?" Axel asked.

"You will gain unimaginable power, power to destroy a civilization." Nexus replied.

Axel could feel himself being drawn to the crystal ball by an invisible force. He fought with all of his might,_ Not like this, _Axel stretched out his hand and the other did the same, _Ancestors not like this,_ the crystal ball was almost in his grasp, _This is not how I wanted it,_ Axel grasped the crystal ball and gave a scream of pain as raw power and darkness flowed into him. For the second time in his life Axel felt fear.

Kim shot up with a gasp. She looked around and remembered where she was and what happened. Kim rubbed the sleep from her eyes and woke the others. The sun was low in the sky but not quite at sunset. "If we hurry we can use the cover of the night while we're in the city." Jas nodded and everyone made there way to the city, not a word was spoken on the trip and Kim felt the pressure build with every step she took. They were depending on her to get them inside the city, _I can't let them down_. She thought to herself.

The party arrived outside the city a little after sunset, it was just over the next hill. Kim peaked over the hill and saw five guards stationed outside the gate. She ducked back down when a guard looked her way. "Alright, stay here, if I'm not back in one hour something bad happened." Kim explained.

"What are we suppose to do then?" Jas asked.

Kim never thought that far ahead, "Improvise, I don't know! I just thought I'd let you know." Kim darted over the hill by Jas stopped her.

"Good luck Kim." Jas encouraged, "I have faith in you."

Kim smiled, "Thank you." Jas let go of Kim and she darted over the hill and dropped to the ground. Kim waited for the guards to look the other way, she held her breath then crawled closer to the wall. Kim wished that she wasn't in a dress, she thought of them as uncomfortable and degrading. A twig snapped under Kim's hand and she held her breath. A guard was walking in her direction, she felt around and found a rock, she tossed it to her left and the guard changed directions to investigate the sound. Kim looked up to see the moons nearly full giving off plentiful light, as much as she loved them she wished they could not be as bright tonight. Then by a stroke of luck or fate a cloud moved overhead blocking out the moons. Kim whispered a silent thanks and bolted for the wall. Kim kept her back to the wall and edged her way along it while feeling with her hand for a symbol in the stones. Her hand finally came to a symbol slightly protruding from the wall. Kim checked her sides to make sure none of the guards were watching. Kim examined the symbol, it was a four pointed star that pointed up, down, left, and right. Kim placed her thumb on the bottom one and her pointer and middle on the top, _The combination was a half-turn right,_ Kim rotated the symbol clockwise so the top was pointing down, the symbol clicked as it turned, _Next was three-quarter-turn left and then a quarter-turn right._ As Kim made the final turn the symbol pushed into the wall and a door opened making a grinding sound of stone on stone. Kim rushed inside and the stone door closed behind her. There was a staircase inside that spiraled down into a room.

The room she entered was dark although it didn't matter to her. Kim surveyed the room, it was small and cobwebs were abundant from disuse. On the far end of the room was a ladder that lead up to a trap door. There were wooden boxes piled up on either side of the room. Kim opened the one closest to her, inside was full black bodysuits and half facemasks. Kim pulled out one of the bodysuits and a mask and placed them on one of the other crates. Kim striped off her dress and petticoat then shivered when the cool air touched her bare skin. She then donned her mask then bodysuit by slipping though a hole in the back of the suit, the hole took up the entire lower back. The suit was elastic and formed to Kim's curves, the suit covered up to her writs and ankles and everything in between, the mask was also elastic and fit snugly on the lower half of her face. Kim searched though other boxes and found ; a leather cord, a pair of gloves that felt like they had metal plating in them, a pair of shin high shoes that separated the big toe from the others, and a sash. She tied her hair back with the leather cord and put on the gloves and shoes along with the sash. Kim made her way to the ladder but stopped at one of the crates and opened it, inside was needles and viles filled with a clear liquid. She took five needles and one of the viles tucking them in the sash then continued to the ladder.

Kim peeked her head out of the trapdoor and surveyed the area. It was a dirty back alley with not a soul in sight. Slowly Kim crawled out of the trap door and onto the alleyway and quietly closed the door. The trap door from the outside was cleverly disguised as the ally floor. Sticking to the shadows Kim made her way to the gate where her friends were hiding.

Jas peeked her head over the hillside, "Its been awhile." Jas ducked back down.

"Stop worrying about her Jas." reassured Cynder, "She is more than capable of taking care of herself."

Jas sighed, "I just hope that she is alright." Jas sensed the presence of another being enter her area of detection. Jas whirled around, but it was to late, they were spotted.

Over the hill appeared a guard, "Who's there?" the guard asked. The guard looked down and saw Jas, Spyro, Cynder, and Ember, "You! We thought you were all dead." Spyro charged at the guard but he sidestepped avoiding Spyro. "Calm down." the guard yelled. He removed his full helm revealing his face. The guard turned out to be Brad.

Jas had stumbled backwards when the guard surprised them, "Brad is that really you?"

Brads face lit up, "Yes it is. We thought that you were all lost, tell me, were is the King and princes and the rest of your party?"

Jas hesitated then looked away, "They didn't make it."

Despair covered Brad's face, "I see, that's…a shame." He turned away and threw her helmet to the ground with great force.

Jas stood up, "They are not dead, they have been turned to stone by the Basilisk."

Brad turned around, "So Ben wasn't making it up, there really was a Basilisk under the City."

"Lan said that if we find Hector that he would know how to reverse the curse." Jas said hopefully.

"Then lets go find him." Brad ordered, "But first we have to get all of you in the city walls unnoticed, and all of the entries are guarded, even the secret ones."

"Don't worry." Spyro reassured, "Kim said that she would get us in."

Cynder peeked over the hill, "Look over there, by the guards."

Kim positioned herself by the corner of a house. The gate was just around the corner, along with four guards by it, on both sides! Kim peeked around the corner and observed their equipment again. All of them had long swords but no shields, they wore chain mail armor and half helms. Kim thought in her head how she was going to take each one down quickly and silently. She picked up a rock at her feet and dropped it. She heard a guard approach, she crouched down in the shadows and waited.

A guard rounded the corner into the alley and walked right by Kim. She slowly crawled out of the shadows and jumped on the guard wrapping her arm around the guards neck and the other around his mouth. The guard struggled slowly getting weaker and weaker before he passed out. Setting the guard slowly to the ground Kim moved the guard more in the shadows then waited. Before Kim got the shadows the next guard entered the alley and started to draw his sword. Kim charged and grabbed the guards arm before it reached the sword and raised it in the air. She made a fist with her free hand and punched the guard in the throat then repeatedly in the stomach before taking the arm she held and threw him further in the alley. The other two guards saw Kim and charged at her and she charged at them. She pulled out one of the needles from her sash around her waist that was coated in the viles liquid. The guards had there swords drawn and swung at Kim. She ducked under them and stabbed one of the guards behind the knee with the needle then brought it out and stabbed the other guard in the chest though his chain mail with the other end of the needle. The guards paused there actions as if they were stunned before collapsing to the ground.

Kim looked up and ran towards the gate pulling out two more needles for four guards. They were not yet alerted but soon would be if she did not move fast enough. Kim jumped when she made it to the first guard and stabbed him the neck then threw the same needle at another guard and slipped between the chain mail into his chest. The other guards were now aware of Kim's intrusion and attacked her, but not before she stuck her other needle into one of them. It was down to one guard and Kim and as he charged Kim readied herself. The guard slashed with his sword but Kim easily dodged it and she put her pointer and middle fingers together and struck the guard in the Adams Apple. The guard gasped for air but Kim would not let him have it, she made a fist and struck the guard under the ribcage in an upward angle repeatedly. The guard gasped for air every time Kim jabbed him before he finally dropped. Kim exhaled the breath she was holding the entire time and relaxed herself. She looked over to where her friends were hiding and motioned them to come by her.

Cynder had just blinked and it was all over, _Is that Kim? Where did she learn how to do that?_ Cynder thought. Kim was waving them over, Cynder looked at the other who were still in awe. "I think she wants us to go down by her." Everyone else nodded and followed Brad down the hill. Cynder whispered to Spyro, "Did you know that she could do that?"

"No, I'm just glad that she is on our side." Spyro whispered back.

As they got closer Kim started walking towards them, "The guards will be out for a few hours, but that doesn't mean that someone will find them before then. We should get in the castle now, quickly and quietly."

Kim turned to leave but Jas grabbed her arm, "Where did you learn how to do that?"

Kim paused before answering, "This is the trade of the Assassin."

**This Chapter only took a day and a half to write, but the reason why it is so late is because even though school has been out for about a month I had a lot of loose ends to tie up that needed to be tied. Plus I had to get a personal Summer schedule down to balance; work, family, friends, and my personal time (FanFic being under personal). This was the first time that I was able to sit down at my computer and write for the past month. So now unless something else comes up there should be a steady stream of chapters coming regularly.**


	30. Chapter 30

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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"Do you really think that we should just sit idle? This is a catastrophe!" Navon protested.

Hector was sitting at his desk writing a letter with his quill and continued writing uninterrupted, "I have known Ben for a long time, he has been in worse situations than this."

"How in the bloody hell could he have gotten in a worse situation than this?" Navon asked doubtingly.

Hector chuckled to himself, "I remember one time growing up with him…" Navon ruffled his feathers, Hector raised an eyebrow and looked at Navon who was on the perch next to the desk, "Is it so strange that we were children together? You forget when I told you that my Shaping took many years off of my appearance," Hector chuckled, "but thankfully not off of my life, as far as I can tell at least." He finished the last letter, Hector needed to send out several letters to allies and friends of the Kingdom since Ace couldn't, although the last one was personal. It read:

_Dear Alexis,_

_I know that this may not be the best time but I would like you to come back to the Kingdom. I realize that you are very caught up with your studies but we need every mage that is able to fight come to Regnum of Lux Lucis with great haste. The city will be under attack soon and the more we have to fight the more likely we will win. I am begging you to take heed this letter and come home._

_Sincerely,_

_Headmaster Hector_

Hector reread the letter over and over to make sure that the letter was adequate for Alexis. After deciding that it was he walked over to the window and opened it. He then threw the letters out the window reciting, "No tutus quod velociter ut illic proprietas." _'Fly safely and quickly to there owners'._ the letters transformed into a flutter of butterflies and flew off in separate directions into the night. Hector smiled to himself, _Magic is truly a wonderful thing_.

Hector head knocking on his door, "By order of the King open this door!"

Hector rushed to his desk and started shoving books and objects into his bag, "Just a minute." He answered back. Hector turned to Navon, "You know what to do right?"

"Naturally." Navon flew out of the window and out of sight.

Hector put on the bag so that its one strap was over his chest and the bag part was on his back. "Alright, I'm coming to the door." Hector grabbed his staff that was braced up against the wall and walked over to the door. He pulled out a key from his sleeve and turned it in the doors lock, there was a loud clunk as tumblers turned. Hector pulled out the key and opened the door walking out into an alley. _Not as convenient as a Portal Gem, but still effective._ Hector thought to himself. Navon fluttered down into the alleyway and onto Hectors outstretched arm as the portal closed.

"The city is active tonight." Navon stated.

"Most likely riots, I can't say that the Order of the Dragon is to happy about Ben getting dropped in the pit, along with his heirs." Hector replied, "We have to do something about it."

Navon ruffled his feathers, "I say we give Alexander what for!"

Hector started walking out of the alley, "As would I, but I feel that whoever was on the other side of the door had a dark gem especially for us. No, we haveto gather the Order and anyone who is willing to rise up against Alexander first, then we make our move."

* * *

Brad was half running through the streets of the Regnum of Lux Lucis with his young friends behind him. Kim and Jas were able to tell if anyone was nearby, Kim could see those in the distance and Jas could sense those in alleys and around corners. _Terry and Violet had taught them well_, he thought in his head.

A figure stepped out of an alley no more than five paces away and Jas warned, "There is someone there."

But it was to late, the person saw them and raised a hand. Brad acted on instinct and reflex, he reached for his sword and swung at the man but halted the blade before it his its mark. Brad paused dumbstruck, "Hector? What in the blazes are you doing in a place like this?"

Hector eyes the blade by his face and looked at Brad, "I could make a wit but this is much to serious." Bard lowered his blade and sheathed it, "He is hunting us Brad, Alexander is hunting all of those who had connections with Ben. Just now Alexander had some men try and storm my study in the castle." Hector gave a small smile, "I can't say that they are happy right now." Hector looked behind Brad, "There still alive?"

Brad turned and looked at the survivors, "Yes, they say that they escaped through a tunnel that ran all the way out of the city."

"What about the others?" Hector asked levelly.

Brad closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, "Ace, Owen, Chad, Ty, and even your apprentice, Lan, they didn't make it."

"Then what hope is left?" Navon asked.

Brad open his eyes when he heard Jas speak, "I contacted Lan telepathically, he helped us escape before he was turned to stone by the Basilisk." Hector swore in a foreign language that Brad couldn't understand but recognized it a Vetus Lingua. Jas continued, "He said to find you, that you might be able to break the curse." Brad nodded in agreement but had nothing else to add.

The look on Hectors face was familiar to Brad, he remembered that it always gotten them out of trouble in the past. Hector gave an extended sigh, "I might be able to, but in order to dispel it I need to see the beast."

Brad took a step forward, "Hector, you can't mean…"

"Yes," Hector cut off Brad, "I need to go into the Labyrinth that runs under the city and face the Basilisk."

Brad gave a frustrated sigh, "I wish there was another way."

"There is, but I don't feel like taking out the entire city." Hector said all to seriously, "Now we must hurry, time is of the essence."

_I don't like this, the Basilisk already took out Ace, and he was hell bent on killing this thing. Ace was prepared for this all of his life, I just hope that Hector will do better._ Brad looked at the young survivors, they were waiting for his call on what to do next. A small smile touched his lips, the look on there faces reminded him of himself when he was younger. "Alright Hector, since there is no other choice." Brad started walking down the street to the square, to the place where so many innocent had been sent to die.

* * *

It was all to soon as Hector stood on the execution platform, he knew what he had to do and he was terrified. There was a reason why Basilisks were exterminated, they were destructive and dangerous, and not only that, they were unnatural. Basilisks were brought here from another dimension by a rouge mage to get revenge on the Mage Society.

Brad walked up next to Hector, "Are you ready?" he asked. Hector paused, then nodded reluctantly. Brad climbed onto the slab that covered the pit and helped Hector up. "There is no turning back once your down there."

Hector nodded, "I am ready for what may come." Brad placed his hand on the center of the slab and an area big enough to fit a person though turned to sand and fell down the hole.

Navon flew down next to the hole, "I don't like this anymore that you do, but it is something we have to do."

"No, it is something that I have to do." Hector corrected while sitting down dangling his legs in the hole.

"What do you mean?" Navon asked disbelievingly.

Hector placed his hand on Navon's head, "You cannot come with me. If I fail the University will be without guidance, you need to guide them until you can find a worthy successor for me."

"But I always go with you." Navon protested.

Hector removed his hand, "Navon, I have known you for a long time and you know I have never ordered you to do anything. Please don't let this be the first, consider this as a last request." Hector didn't wait for a reply, he dropped down the hole clenching his staff. _Forgive me my friend, but this is something I have to do alone._ Hector fell in darkness until he hit slanted ground and slid down until he skidded to a halt on a flat surface.

Hector dusted himself off, he tapped the bottom of his staff on the floor saying, "Lux Lucis." a light blue sphere hovered above the horns of his staff. The room he was in was small and had a few crystals in it. He moved to the small corridor that lead into a large tunnel, there was a hiss in the darkness. Hector closed his eyes and his world turned dark he heard scales rubbing on stone. The sound stopped and Hector rolled forward dodging who knows what, he imagined its head or tail. At a young age Hector began learning the Minds Eye technique, it is mostly used by monks for fighting in the dark, but he found it quite useful in the past. Although Hector could not actually see what was happening he envisioned it in his mind as best as he could though sound and touch. The sound of stone cracking guided Hectors aim, "Veneficus Absentis!" there was the sound of stone breaking and then a hiss.

Again and again Hector attacked the beast hitting it more times than missing as far as he could tell while trying to get a glimpse at the beast. Then after one attack there was no more sound, Hector had thought he had won until he felt something hit him with great force into the tunnel wall. The breath was knocked out of Hector, he gasped in pain as he realized that he had several broken bones that could be fatal if not attended to. _I used up to much Mana, I can't heal my wounds. The only way for me to survive is to preserve my body in a stasis long enough for my mana to restore or until help arrives._ Hector weighed the options then opened his eyes and clenched his staff that still illuminated the area. The Basilisk had pinned Hector with its snakelike head and he was staring at two large yellow disks the size of dinner plates. Hector cut off the light and smiled mockingly as his body began to stiffen and finally turn to stone. Hector stared at the Basilisk though grey stone eyes as it gave a hissing roar. As the light faded Hector saw the errors of his ways, as where the small corridor he enter the tunnel was, now stood a huge gapping hole stood. The Basilisk slithered into the opening and up the pit. _What have I done?_ Hector asked himself, _I have condemned them all_.

* * *

Brad stood leaning up against the execution platform, _It has been some time since Hector dove in the pit._ Navon flew off after Hector dropped saying something about the University and how Hector was right. Brad opened his eyes when he heard someone approach, he opened his eyes to see Spyro next to him.

"I'm surprised that there are no guards here." Spyro said.

"I guess Hectors escape was enough for them to leave there posts. Its funny really, we saved Alexander the trouble of dropping Hector." Brad joked then his face turned gloomy, "Is there something you want?"

Spyro shook his head, "No, well I mean yes, what did you do to open that hole in the slab?"

Brad straightened up, "Oh, that. Well it is best to tell you a few things for you to understand." Brad paused, "There is only one Order of the Dragon and every member can go between a dragon form and a human or elven form. But we are not the only ones that can do this, there are others that can change and they go under different names. My mother was from the Order and my father was from the Sand Dragons. One thing led to another and they fell in love and then I was born, my mother was an Earth Dragon and my father was a Sand Dragon. Lets just say that I got more of my father in me than my mother."

"I see, so sand is your element?" Spyro asked.

"That is only half true. I can use both earth and sand because they are relatively similar, but I can also turn sand to earth and earth to sand." Brad explained.

Spyro nodded understanding what Brad told him, "I was just curious, thanks for telling me."

Brad smiled, "Anytime you have a question you can just…wait! Can you feel that?" Brad dropped to the ground and placed his hands on it.

"What is it?" Spyro asked.

"Vibrations in the ground, big ones." Brad stood up and shot forward yelling, "Run! Get away from the pit!" No sooner said did the slab covering the pit fly up in the air, as it came down it headed right for the others who were in a group. Jas stopped and raised her hands, Brad knew what Jas could do, but he doubted that even Violet could lift the slab. Brad changed directions and charged at Jas knocking her out of the way. He turned to the slab and swung his fist at it, as his fist made contact the slab turned to sand. The force from the sand would have knocked over Brad anyways if he did not dig his feet into the ground first. Brad helped Jas up who gave a thankful smile. Drawing his sword he moved towards the pit.

"What are you doing!" Jas yelled at Brad.

"Buying time, now run!" he answered back. A large serpent rose from the pit and Brad shut his eyes, he would not go down that easily. The Basilisks movement gave off vibrations that told Brad where it was. Brad made the ground under the Basilisk turn to sand and then back to stone once it sunk in the sand. Leaping in the air Brad gave a battle cry but then was knocked down by something and landed sprawled on the ground dropping his sword. The sound of stone cracking was like an avalanche when the Basilisk broke from its confinements. Brad brought his arms together, the ground around him turned to sand, crated a dome then turned to stone. Not a moment to soon either, the Basilisk struck the stone dome and recoiled back. It struck again, this time breaking the dome and it stared at Brad, its soulless gaze met Brads and slowly he felt himself turn to stone. There Brad lay, a statue in his half broken dome.

* * *

Kim was panting, they had once again narrowly escaped the Basilisk.

"Should we go back for Brad?" Cynder asked.

Jas shook her head taking deep breaths, "No, the Basilisk already got him."

"So what are we suppose to do then?" Ember asked.

"We fight back." Spyro answered, "If we don't stop this thing now it will turn everyone to stone. I can't let that happen. This thing has to die now."

Kim had leaned up against a wall, "How are we suppose to do that? Already that thing has fought off; Evan, Ace, Owen and Chad, my brother, two mages and probably the strongest Order member. What else can we do?"

"Spyro's right, we need to stop this thing." Cynder agreed, "But Kim has a point, we can't stop this thing."

Jas spoke up, "We have to try, there is no other choice."

"Then we better do whatever we are going to do fast." Kim suggested, "Who knows what damage the Basilisk can do above ground." The others nodded. "But we can't run in blindly, we need a plan." For the next couple of minutes they spent strategizing trying to make a solid plan of attack. Once it was agreed upon Kim took her position on the rooftop and waited. Not to much longer and Ember would lead the Basilisk down the street and then Kim would jump on it and claw its eyes out while the others drew its attention. But Ember never came, Kim called down to Spyro and Cynder, "Something is wrong, we need to investigate." They nodded and Kim jumped down from the roof.

Jas ran over to them, "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Ember is taking to long, we need to find her." Kim answered.

"But what about the plan?" Jas asked.

Cynder spoke up, "There is no plan if the first part fails. We need to find Ember, she might be in trouble, or worse."

Kim nodded and led the way to where Ember was suppose to come from. As they reentered the square Kim gasped, there were more statues in the square, they looked like guards. In a ring of stone guards with terrified looks on their faces was Ember, only she was stone. Kim swore, "Damn it. Now what do we do?"

Jas squeezed through the ring of stone guards and placed her hand on Embers head and was quiet. Jas recoiled back from Embers statue, "Its heading for the castle!" she said franticly.

Kim didn't wait a second latter, she dashed off towards the castle. Kim had rounded a corner not far from the castle gates when she was blindsided by something. Kim looked up to see a scaly tail pinned her. The serpent lowered its gaze but Kim closed her eyes in time so she did not see the Basilisks eyes. Kim felt the life being crushed out of her, with all her might she tried to lift the tail off of her but to no avail. She then dug deep inside her for herself and then started to turn into a werewolf. Once Kim fully turned she dug her claws into the tail and lifted it, because the moons were nearly full she was stronger, but it was still a struggle to lift such a weight. She threw herself out from under it and smelt her bloodstained claws, she had its scent. Kim leapt into the air to get onto the rooftops but she was knocked down with great force. Her eyes shot open as she was impacted into the ground and she met its unholy gaze, but not before transforming out of her werewolf shape. She felt herself stiffen and then turn to stone. Kim remembered something Terry had once told her,_ If you fight alone, you die alone._ Kim realized that it was true.

* * *

Cynder followed behind Jas but next to Spyro. Kim had just darted off towards the castle and they were pursuing her. There was a loud crashing sound, _Oh no_, Cynder thought,_ I hope that wasn't Kim._ The sound was off in the distance, but it was in the direction of the castle. As they got closer to the castle they saw more and more statues of guards. They rounded a corner and Jas stopped dead dropping to her knees. Cynder looked at what had stopped her and saw Kim in a small crater with her cloths torn as if the had been starched before they tore. Jas put her hand on Kim's head and sat silent.

"First Hector, then Brad and Ember, now this." Spyro said grimly, "Along with all of those guards.

Cynder agreed and then Jas stood up, "She tried all she could." Jas said, "This has to end now." Jas began running towards the castle.

Cynder followed along with Spyro, "I'm starting to think that nothing will kill this thing." Cynder stated.

"Me to." Spyro agreed, "But we have to try."

Cynder nodded. It was not long until they were at the castle gates and it was guarded by statues, "Ancestors save us." Cynder pleaded.

Jas continued walking, "We have to hurry." She walked though the mangled gate that lead up to the castle. Throughout the castle was only statues of people. There was a scream from the throne room, they ran faster to its source. Where the doorway stood to the throne room once stood now stood a large hole.

"Get away from me you beast! No!" was heard when they entered the throne room. The Basilisk stood in front of the thrones where the obese statue of Count Alexander Linnaeus. The Basilisk coiled around the statue until it broke into rubble leaving Alexander a pile a stone. Now in the light a diamond pattern was visible on the Basilisk's back.

Cynder gasped. And the basilisk started to turn towards them. Jas, Spyro, and Cynder bolted to the pillars that supported the room. The Basilisk hit one of the pillars with its tail and it was falling right towards Cynder. She felt herself being pushed out of the way and realized that it was Spyro who pushed her.

The pillar landed on Spyro causing him to cry out in pain. He opened his eyes though pained tears and weakly yelled, "Cynder run!"

Cynder ran over to Spyro, "Are you alright?" Cynder asked teary eyed.

"Forget about me, you have to get out of here." Spyro wheezed.

"I'm not leaving you again." Cynder said shaking her head.

Cynder looked behind her hearing the sound of fighting. Jas jumped in the air to dodge the Basilisk but then was thrown through a wall.

"We have to get you out of here." Cynder said franticly.

Spyro shook his head, "It won't budge, just save yourself."

"No! We promised never to leave each other." Cynder protested, "I won't leave you again." Cynder embraced Spyro, "I love you!"

"I love you to Cynder." Spyro said then Cynder couldn't feel Spyro move under her.

She opened her eyes to see Spyro was stone, then looked up and saw the Basilisk's stare and she felt herself stiffen. She wrapped herself around Spyro and couldn't move anymore._ I will be with you, always._

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I think that is a good place to stop for now. Next Chapter out soon, I've been wanting to write the next one for some time.

Chapter 30: City of Stone


	31. Chapter 31

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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Chapter 31: A Psychic's Strength

The first thing that she was aware of was that her head was throbbing and that her body ached. Slowly she tested her arms and legs to make sure she still felt them and that they worked. As she pushed herself up her arms gave out from under her and she dropped to the ground. Jas opened her eyes and saw a small pool of blood by her face. She pushed herself up again and this time was successful, limping to a wall she fell to her knees. Crawling, she made it to the wall and sat with her back against it. Jas gave a weary sigh and looked across the room to see a hole in the wall where she was thrown through. _It was a good thing I put a barrier around myself,_ Jas thought. She looked at the black and blue dress she had worn all of this time, it was; torn, ripped, stained, and completely ruined. It stung above her brow and when she felt where it stung Jas felt caked on blood, her blood. Jas hesitated before it registered that she was injured, that is when the simple stinging turned to pain. Ripping off part of her dress she made a crude bandage and fastened it securely around her head, like a head band, so it covered her wound. Jas tried getting back up but couldn't find the strength, she was injured and she could barely stand, _There is no way I can go on, I guess I failed everyone. _she started to close her eyes and drift off, _I mean look at me, I am a battered mess. Even if I could get up there is little I can do._

Jas felt vaguely familiar presences. In the dark of her mind she saw first Spyro and Cynder. "You can't give up now." Cynder protested, "Not after all that we have gone though."

"You have to get up." Spyro told Jas, "You have to get up or that thing will destroy everything."

"I can't." Jas whimpered.

Kim faded into view, "Come on Jas, your stronger than this. You can't just lay there."

"But I feel so weak." Jas protested.

Ember appeared next to Spyro and Cynder, "You're the only one who can stop all of this. You have to."

Jas felt her heart sink for some reason, "I don't think I can."

Brad appeared behind Kim, "I've seen you in training, you surpassed most of the older recruits. Don't tell me this will stop you."

Jas tried standing but couldn't, "This _has_ stopped me Brad."

Hector materialized next to Brad, "Violet and Lan have told me much about you, from what they told me you can shake a little thump on the head off."

"It hurts so much though." Jas cried.

Lan formed next to Kim, "Come on Jas, you have been though worse than this."

Before Jas could say anything Chad came into view on the other side of Kim, "Your stronger than this, now get up."

Ace appeared behind Chad, "You have to be strong. You're the only one who can stop the Basilisk."

Evan formed right by Lan, "You have to get up Jas."

Ty formed behind his sister, "You're the only one who can save everyone."

"Stop it!" Jas yelled and shut her eyes with tear flowing down her face, "I can't do anything! So stop telling me that I can because I can't!"

"Jasmine." Jas opened her eyes though tears and saw Owen crouched down by her, "Jasmine, you have to get up."

"But I can't Owen, I just can't. I feel so weak." Jas whimpered.

Owen extended his hand out to her, "You have to try."

Jas started to protest, "But I…"

Owen cut her off, "Jas, I have know you all of my life and I know that you are stronger than this. Don't tell me that a little scratch and a bump on the head is going to stop you is it?" Jas didn't say a thing, "Remember when we were kids? Remember what I said?" Jas didn't respond, "I told you that I would be there for you and that I would help you up when you fall. If you can't get up let me help you."

Jas didn't know what to say. She reached out for Owen's hand and he started to help her up, "Owen I…"

"Jas, we all believe in you. Win or lose you won't let us down." Owen said comfortingly.

Jas's eyes shot open and she found herself standing with her arm outstretched likes she had when Owen helped her up. _Was any of that real?_ she asked herself. She felt weak, but something gave her strength to go on. She put one bare foot in front of another moving to the other end of the room to the hole, Jas was surprised to see how spry her step was. She lifted herself up and though the hole with ease and dropped down on the other side. Next to a collapsed pillar was the stone figures of Spyro and Cynder, Spyro was under the pillar with Cynder next to him.

"Don't worry, I'll stop all of this." Jas said to no one. She wanted to help Spyro and Cynder right at that moment, but there was nothing that she could do, and she didn't want to accidentally break them. Jas grimaced and moved down the hall into the castle's anteroom and gasped. There were many more statues than there was before, but one stood out to her in particular. The statue of Violet stared back at her.

Jas felt a familiar presence enter her mind, _Thank the Ancestors your alright, I lost your presence early this morning._

Jas recoiled at first but then realized that it was Violet speaking with her, _I think I was unconscious for a little while. _Jas replied.

_Dear child, it is already near sunset. You have been unconscious for almost a half a day._ Violet thought comfortingly.

Jas couldn't believe what she was hearing. She rushed outside and could see sunlight over the buildings in the west. _No, _she thought to herself.

_It is probably for the best_. Violet told Jas, _I went through the Basilisk's mind and saw through its eyes, thought it's thoughts. It thinks that you are dead._ Violet paused, _You have the upper hand, it won't be expecting a dead person to come after it._

Jas took a moment to absorbed what Violet had told her, _What do I have to do?_

_Go to my shop, there you will find your staff. I took it from the guards post once you were imprisoned._ Violet told her, _You have to stop this beast, whatever the cost. You are our last hope Jasmine Sayge, you must not fall to the Basilisks curse. I wish you luck, for that is all I can do right now._ The link between them we severed and was almost a shock to Jas. In the solitude of her mind Jas realized how alone she actually was.

Jas took a moment to gather herself and descended the stars that lead from the castle. She kept her mind open to be ready if the Basilisk would be near her. Everywhere she looked she could see the stone figures of citizens. Horror was etched on their faces, dragons, humans, and elves alike. Worse than that she could sense many more beyond her sight.

In a building to her right was a human mother and her children huddled around each other while the father is a hair width away from grasping his sword. They were about to sit down to eat, the food is still warm and all of the silverware is laid out. Confusion and distress raced in the children's minds while fear for her children ran though the mothers. The father had cold determinations in his mind but pangs of hopelessness pulsed though him because he knew he could not do a thing.

Jas clenched her head, the emotions were to strong.

In front of her was and elf who had come from a forest village to visit his city elf parents. He had his bow drawn back and pointed upward with a snarl on his face. Determined to protect his elderly parents he had rushed outside to kill the threat outside. Frustration crossed the elf's mind as his arrow would have loosed if he was a second quicker. In the building behind him was his parents watching in fear as their only child turned to stone. They were proud of him but fearful that he would die.

Jas fell to her knees, _Its to much._ The emotions of thousands were crushing her.

To Jas's right were two dragon lovers. They had known each other for three years and were planning on starting a family together. They were both ice dragons and the male was about to launch his breath from his maw at a giant snake but was abruptly turned to stone. Sorrow flowed into Jas as the male dragon thought about never hearing his lovers voice again, how he would not see their children. The female was fearful that her lover would die and that she would never tell him the good news, she had been pregnant for a month but she was afraid of how he would react when he found out. She had made up her mind when he said that he had to protect her so their dream of a family would come true, that was right before he turned to stone.

Jas wanted to cry from the onslaught of emotions that she received as thousands more flowed into her. Her vision began to flicker and she began to fall forwards but was caught by something. Jas opened her eyes and was staring at black boot that stood on a white floor.

"You cannot give up." said the one who caught her. It was a mans voice that had a slight echo to it, Jas realized at that moment that she could not sense anyone around her, not even the man. He hoisted her up and as far as Jas could see was white. She looked at the man but his face was shrouded by a hood that was attached to a cloak. The man wore all black and let go of Jas and she started to fall backwards but was caught again by the man who appeared behind her, "You cannot give up Jas."

"I screwed up." Jas whimpered, "I tried to hard and now its over." it then dawned on Jas that she had no idea who this man was, "Who are you."

"I am the Keeper of Fate." He answered, "This is not the end for you Jasmine, not here. When you are weak, call on the strength of those in need for you to carry on." Fate lifted Jas up again and her vision flickered.

Jas was standing where she blacked out,_ What was that?_ She asked herself. Some force deep down inside her told her to move and she did. It was a slow walk to Violet's shop and the sun was lower casting great shadows. All along the way she felt as if those who were statues were conscious of her and with every step she felt herself getting stronger and less fatigued. It was almost as if the stone citizens were giving her their strength, as if they knew that Jas was their last hope of being saved.

When Jas entered the shop it looked the same as the first day Jas entered it back when she first entered the city. On the table was her staff sheath amongst scattered paper and books. She walked over to the table and donned the belt of the sheath around her waist. Pulling out one of the staff sections she activated the mechanism that allowed the blade to be released. She cut off a piece of her dress to make a crude blindfold and tied around her eyes. Violets voiced echoed through Jas's mind, _you must not fall to the Basilisks curse. What better way than this?_ Jas asked herself.

Using her powers she quickly assembled her staff and walked outside, she extended the blades on both ends of the staff. Jas stepped outside and even though she was blindfolded she could sense where the statues were and could make out a vague path to follow. The citizens guided Jas in the direction of the Basilisk destruction. At certain points she was lead in a circle only to be brought back on track once she completed the loop. Jas had lost track of time and did not know if it was night or some other time. She dare not take off the blindfold to find out and did not want to waste a second in her hunt.

Jas had no idea where she was until she sense a familiar presence, the presence was Brad and that was when Jas realized she was at the pit, that was when she heard a hiss and her heart stopped. She could now sense a very large being in front of her, there was no mistaking it, the being was the Basilisk. The statues were moved around the edge of the square, _The Basilisk must have moved them_, Jas thought. As she took a step forward the Basilisk became aware of her and she could feel its eyes looking at her, it gave a frustrated hiss. She could sense a sliver of hope coming from the statues and she took strength from that.

The Basilisk actions were forced but Jas could read them before it made them. It was going to make a sweep with its tail but Jas jumped up with a boost from her psychokinesis. Jas landed on the tail and ran up its length and onto the Basilisk's head. She thrust her staff into it's skull and she heard a metallic snap, Jas didn't know what happened. The Basilisk was in pain but not dying, Jas got shaken off of it's head and landed on the ground. Jas felt along the length of staff until she felt the end she had tried to trust into the Basilisk's head. The blade was not there and it felt like there was a jagged edge on it, almost as if the blade was snapped like a twig.

The Basilisk brought down it's tail to smash Jas and almost succeeded but Jas dodged at the last second. She then jumped up and brought another blade down to stab its tail but she heard another metallic snap. The Basilisk hissed in rage and snapped it's jaws trying to bite Jas but she was always one step ahead. Jas tried to take out the eyes but missed twice and was down to her last blade.

Releasing the blade she thought to herself, _I have to end this soon, I don't know how long I can keep this up. Looks I have to break it's mind, although I promised Violet that I would never…what am I thinking? If I don't do something it will destroy everything._ Jas ran towards the Basilisk and jumped as it attacked with its tail. She landed on it's head and placed her hand in the center of the Basilisk's forehead and opened up her mind fully and entered the Basilisk's.

Jas was standing in a prairie, by the looks of it, it was late spring and the wind licked the tips of the grass causing ripples. There was a man standing a few paces from Jas with his back facing her and looking up at the sky. He had long tan hair that flowed down his back and he wore a simple brown tunic and pants. Jas attacked with her mind but it was deflected by a mental barrier.

"I sense a presence here." the man said, "I know this presence, she would visit me in her sleep, no, I would visit her in her sleep." The man ranted and sounded slightly mad, he turned to face Jas. Jas had never seen such a handsome man before in her life, his face smooth and his caramel eyes stared a hole into her. Jas could now see that the man had pointed ears and a long nose, it was hard to judge his age but Jas could sense that he was far older than he looked. The man stepped forward and examined Jas and brought his face close to hers then whipped around and started to pace, "This one is afraid, afraid of me, no, afraid of what I am, yes, afraid of me. She came to me not me to her but why is she here? Here for me, no, here to kill me." He walked up to Jas, "Is this true?"

Jas was taken aback by his ranting, "Are you the Basilisk?" she asked.

He grabbed his head trying to remember, "This is what I am not who, who…who am I? Monster? Beast? No no, that is what they call me, the victims, poor souls. Forced to kill, not kill, trap in stone, an eternity of suffering in a shell." The man ranted on insanely then finally said calmly, "My name is Isaac." As if realizing that Jas was standing in front of him, "You're…you're the one who I would sense at night, aren't you?"

"I don't know, are you the Basilisk?" Jas asked.

Isaac sighed, "Yes, yes I am." he clenched his hand, "All because of that cursed man. That man, father, no, her father. Trapped me in this body, won't die, punish others, the guilty, the innocent. I killed his spawn, his descendent, not dead, will die, will die when I die. All to keep me from his daughter, Lillian, my love, I miss you, want to be with you. I have to die, can't die, must be killed." Isaac grabbed Jas by her shoulders, "You came to kill me haven't you?"

Jas nodded, "Yes, but my blades break on your scales."

"Scales hard, harder than stone, hard to break, scales weak, can be broken, then death. Death will save me, death will destroy me, take my to Lillian, my love, I will see you soon." Isaac shook his head shaking off his madness, "I don't have much time, my mind is not my own." He backed up, "You have to stab me in the center of my chest, there is a circular scale there. If you stab me there you will stab my heart and kill me. I will try to help you, my body is not under my control but I can try to hold off an attack for you to strike." Isaac backed up, "You have one chance to do this."

"Wait! I am blindfolded, how will I see the scale?" Jas asked.

Isaac paused appearing to fight off a headache, his words were struggled, "You need to remove it, I will try to fight off looking at you. This will be your only chance." Isaac collapsed on the ground, "Go before it is to late!"

Jas felt her mind being forced out of Isaac's and was suddenly aware of her body as she was tossed off of the Basilisk's head. Jas rolled on the ground as she landed and stood. She could sense two consciousnesses fighting in the Basilisk, Jas removed her blindfold and saw the Basilisk thrashing it's head and tail. Jas held her staff like a javelin and ran at the Basilisk and saw a circular scale on it's chest and aimed for that as she threw her staff. The staff punctured the scale and flew through its heart and out of it's back. The Basilisk paused as is stunned then threw back its head and hissed in pain then slowly turned to stone. Jas fell to her knees and panted. The statue of the Basilisk began to crack and then began to break until it was a pile of rubble. Jas looked around and saw that the citizen states had not changed and despair ran though her. She looked up as she heard stone moving, Isaac crawled out of the Basilisk rubble.

He walked up to Jas with a smile, "You freed me from my curse." He reached out his hand to help Jas up, "I don't think that I will ever be able to…" Isaac's eyes widened and he clenched his arm he offered to Jas, "What…what is happening?" He looked at his arm as it slowly turned to stone, "No." He gasped. His legs began to turn and he threw down his arms and threw back his head yelling, "Lillian!" there he was frozen in stone.

Jas was speechless, not only had she saw the man who was the Basilisk turn to stone, the citizens were still statues. She suddenly felt weak and her vision began to darken. Before she blacked out she saw the statue crack and break revealing skin as they started to move.

It felt like she had only closed her eye but when she opened them she was no longer in the city square. She was laying in a bed under several blankets, her cloth were changed, and it was then that she realized that she was in her room. As she started to stir she felt something at the edge of her bed. She looked over to see Owen raising his head from her mattress and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He wore his usual garb; white pants and muscle shirt with the Order of the dragon insignia on the front. Jas smiled to see him there, "Good morning." she said.

Owen, startled, jumped in his seat and looked at her, "Your awake!" Jas tried to sit up but was to weak, "Easy." Owen said as he helped her up. Jas reached up and felt her brow and there was a bandage there, "Its about time to change it." Owen said reaching up to untie it. He examined her brow then shook his head, "It should be fine now, it might leave a little scar though."

Jas felt the scars on her right arm when she heard this and grimaced. Owen saw this and placed his hand on her head and dragged his thumb across her cut then removed his hand. Jas felt a strong itch on her brow but the it went away, she felt her brow and did not feel her wound, "What did you do?" She asked.

Owen smiled, "I just help a little."

"You can heal now can't you?" Jas asked.

"Only a little, I can't heal large wounds or curse wounds, though dad says that nobody can." Owen answered. Jas laid back and felt tired, "You have been asleep for most of the day. They said that you would be fine after some rest, but I wanted to be sure."

Jas smiled, "Your sweet." After a pause she said, "Help me up."

"What? You should be resting." Owen protested.

"I will be fine, just help me up." Jas said. Owen shrugged then helped her up off of the bed. She willed her dresser to open and it did as her cloths hovered to the bed. The cloths were black pants and shirtsleeves and a blue sleeveless blouse, "Will you excuse me for a minute?" She told more than asked Owen. He nodded and left the room. Once the door shut Jas striped off her night gown and dressed into her cloths and opened her door with her mind. Owen came stumbling in backwards and almost fell but then in a flash of light was standing in front of Jas.

"You ready?" Owen asked casually. Jas nodded and grabbed his arm and used him for support. That was Owen's Light Step, she had seen him use it other times before but it still surprised her. As Owen lead her down the hall he spoke up, "You have to see Evan, believe me, when you see him you will laugh."

Jas nodded then stopped walking and Owen did the same, "Thanks, for before."

Owen looked at Jas curiously, "What do you mean?"

"When you helped me up. You called out to me and you helped me." Jas answered.

Owen shook his head, "Oh that, to be honest I didn't think that was real. One more thing, you called out to us," Jas looked up at Owen, "I asked Violet about it and she said that a Psychic's strength is their friends and the ones they hold dear." Owen faced Jas and placed his hand on her cheek, "I just want you to know that you are very precious to me, and that I will always be there to help you."

Jas blushed, "Your precious to me too Owen." Slowly they brought their lips together and Jas closed her eyes. If she had any strength left it was gone now as her legs began to quiver and she relied more on Owen to stand.

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Hey everyone, thanks for staying with me this long. This story kind of gotten out of hand. I have been wanting to write this chapter for a long time but wanted to do it sooner. You see, I was expecting this story to be twenty chapters at best, not thirty plus! Although I have to say that I don't have that many more before the end, then I get to work on the sequel! Well that's that, next Chapter out soon.


	32. Chapter 32

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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Chapter 32: Stone to Sand, Stone to Steel

"Heave!" Ace ordered. There were five Castle Guards trying to lift the pillar off of Spyro along with Ace. Spyro didn't even feel the pillar budge.

The guards were panting from numerous attempts without success, "It is no use my Lord." one guard panted, "Perhaps we should find a different way?"

Ace sighed, "Your probably right."

"We could try cracking the pillar." One guard suggested.

"No!" another guard protested, "That would make the pillar rest fully on The Dragon of Legend and crush him."

_I have a name_, Spyro thought. It has been like this since he remembered entering the city. Everyone would refer to him as "The Dragon of Legend" or "The Purple Dragon", Spyro was a little fed up with it.

"We could use a pulley and rope to lift the pillar." Another guard suggested, "Surely that would work."

"That would work," one of the guards agreed, "if we only had a rope that could take that much weight."

"What about Mistress Violet?" a guard asked, "Couldn't she lift it with her mind?"

This time Ace answered, "No, I doubt that she could even make it move a hair."

Spyro had been stuck under the pillar for a couple hours now. Cynder would have been here but Ace told her that there wasn't much she could do and then asked her to help around the city. _I really wish that she was here_, Spyro thought. Spyro rested his head on the floor and then a brilliant thought hit him, "Ace, I think I have an idea."

Ace turned and face Spyro, "So do I, but I doubt that performing a Light Step with two people will end well."

Spyro didn't want to think about how that would end either, "That is not what I had in mind. Do you think that you could find Brad?"

Ace nodded his head, "I suppose with some searching he can be found. Why do you ask?" Before Spyro could answer Ace chuckled and rubbed his brow, "Of course, how could I have not thought about it sooner." Ace addressed the guards, "One of you…on second thought, all of you, go and find the Order Trainer and Captain Brad."

The guards saluted and said simultaneously, "Yes my Lord." they exited the throne room at running speed.

Ace sighed and walked over to his throne and sat on the high backed chair. Spyro thought Ace looked exhausted, sure his back was straight and if you asked him he probably say he could run forty leagues but something about his eyes said differently. There was bloodstain in front and around the throne, once the curse was broken and Spyro broke his stone confinement he had heard a horrible scream and saw the remains of Count Alexander broken into several bloody pieces. He told Cynder not to look as he gazed in horror before pulling himself from the gruesome image. Ace had Count Alexander's remains removed but the smell of blood still lingered in the air. Spyro saw Ace reach down and pick up something from next to the throne and grimaced.

"Is something the matter?" Spyro inquired.

Ace jerked his head up as if coming out of a trance then shook his head, "No, just thinking about…forget it. It's nothing."

"You know you can talk to me if something is on your mind." Spyro offered.

Ace was rubbing his chin like he always dose when he is deciding what to do then looked at what he had picked up, "Alright Spyro." He stood up and walked over by Spyro and sat down next to him. Ace showed Spyro an ornate gold cross amulet that took up his entire hand, there was a large diamond in the center of it. "This was my fathers, it was made by a master crafter as a gift. He said that it would be mine when I inherited the throne, although it was lost when he died. I guess that Alexander kept it as a memento."

"A memento of what?" Spyro asked.

Ace leaned back and sighed again, "Before he dropped us in the pit he told me that he was the one who killed my father." Spyro was at a loss for words, "I swore that I would find and kill the one responsible for father's death," Ace barked a laugh, "looks like the killer was under my nose the entire time. I never trusted Alexander, but to kill my father, the King." Ace gripped the cross, "I wanted to get revenge, but I guess that will never happen." Ace sniffed, he looked sad and angry at the same time and his grip tightened on the cross.

Spyro hesitated before asking, "If you don't mind me asking, would your father want this?" Ace shot a look at Spyro, "I mean, would he have wanted you to have a life bent entirely on revenge?"

"No, he wouldn't." Ace said calmly, he then spoke in a language that Spyro did not understand, the closest thing Spyro could describe it as was death, "Live this mortal life as fully as you can because you only have one and don't let the bad in life stop you from achieving that." Ace finally said, "That is what father always told me when I got angry over something." Ace weighed the amulet in his hand, "Holding this, I feel so close to him, but that just makes me realize how much I miss him."

"I miss my parents too." Spyro said, "I only wish that I had the chance to meet them."

Ace agreed, then he laughed, "Here I am bickering about my losses when they are nothing compared to others." Spyro's heart sank, he knew that is not how Ace meant it, but it just reminded him about how much he did not have. "Don't worry," Ace said comfortingly, "they're out there somewhere."

"But where? You would think that by now they would have shown themselves, or at least let me know that they are there." Spyro said heavy hearted.

Ace stayed silent weighing the amulet and rubbing his chin, "Maybe they have been there the entire time, guiding you when you needed it and when you didn't know you needed it. Maybe they are closer than you think, watching from a distance."

Spyro shook his head, _Why dies he talk like he knows?_ "Ace please, if you know anything about my parents tell me."

Ace stopped weighing the amulet and griped it, "I'm sorry Spyro, it is not my place to tell you."

"Why? Why can't you tell me!" Spyro demanded.

"I promised your father not to breath a word about him and your mother to you. Not until…" Ace stopped mid sentence.

"Until what?" Spyro asked, Ace remained silent, "Answer me!" Ace turned his head away, "Why won't you answer me?" Spyro asked disheartened.

Ace sighed, "Your father was a brilliant man who saw what he did through and through. Nothing would stop him, nothing. He lead armies and fought battles that were against all odds, then fell in love with your mother. She was as bold as he was and twice as clever, she would always be once step ahead of your father and three ahead of everyone else. She would always find ways out of impossible situations and manage to get everyone out alive. They both were very caring and loved each other every much, as much as they love you Spyro."

Spyro was stunned, he finally knew something about his parents, no matter how vague or small. Ace stood up and sighed and looked at the amulet mournfully before donning it, he then started to walk away, "Where are you going?" Spyro asked.

Ace stopped in his tracks and paused before answering, "To talk to your parents, they need to know." Ace did not turn to face Spyro or explain himself further and left the throne room.

"Know what!" Spyro called after Ace, "You know where they are?" no answer, Spyro tried to wriggle free from the pillar, "Wait! I need to tell them something!" no answer, "Just tell them that I miss them." Spyro whimpered.

"Who are you talking to?" Spyro heard before Cynder rounded the pillar and settled herself next to Spyro.

_At least I still have Cynder_, Spyro thought, "Nothing, just found out that my parents are alive and Ace knows where they are but won't tell me."

"That doesn't sound like nothing." Cynder said, "So where is he?"

Spyro nodded his head to where Ace exited, "He just went to talk to them."

Cynder's eyes widened, "He had the nerve to do that?" Spyro nodded, "Do you want me to go after him?"

Spyro shook his head, "As much as that would mean for me, my parents probably have a good reason for not showing themselves. Ace said that he promised them not to tell me about them not until…"

"Until what?" Cynder asked, "Until your ready?"

"No." Spyro said bluntly, "I think until they are ready."

"At least you know your parents are out there." Cynder said grimly, "I don't know who or where mine are, but I doubt they would want me anyways." She added sorrowfully.

Spyro tried to sit up better but the pillar on top of him allowed little movement, "Don't say that, whoever they are I'm sure they will be happy to be with you."

Cynder gave a weak laugh, "Lets face the facts, I destroyed hundreds of families and killed thousands more. Even now when I was helping with escort out those who were in the tunnels the only thanks I got were those who had no idea who I was or what I have done, everyone else thanked me with sneers and hateful words."

"Cynder, you know better than to blame yourself for what happened." Spyro said comfortingly.

Cynder sighed, "I know, but others still do."

"Who cares what they think they don't know you like your friends do, like I do." Spyro added.

"Thanks Spyro." Cynder said with a smile.

Spyro heard footsteps behind him and Brad appeared from around the pillar examining the pillar as he walked by it quickly. "I was wondering where you were." Brad said with a touch of humor to his voice. He took off his gauntlets and rubbed his hands together and studied the pillar some more before asking, "Are you ready?" Spyro nodded, "Just to warn you, I'm going to turn the part of the pillar to sand so you may get buried." Spyro nodded and Brad placed his hand on the part of the pillar on top of him and the next thing Spyro knew the weight of the pillar fell on Spyro, but in sand.

Spyro dug his way out and shook the sand off of his head still half buried in the sand, "Thanks for that Brad."

"Anytime, just don't make a habit of getting trapped under pillars." Brad said sarcastically, "I heard that Evan was having some troubles, you might want to go see what it is." Brad clapped his hands together, "Now if you excuse me I have to round up the Order, most of them scattered after you all were dropped." Brad turned to leave then said, "They will be running laps for this."

Spyro cringed, Brad was a harsh drill instructor. Spyro crawled out of the sand fully and shook himself, five feet on either side of him the pillar had been turned to sand, "I think I have sand between my scales, I think I need to wash."

Cynder had a grin on her face and said mischievously, "I could help you with that, if you want."

Spyro's face reddened, "Didn't Brad say something about Evan?"

Cynder laughed at making Spyro blush then answered, "I think he mentioned a problem."

"Yeah, let go check that out first." Spyro said.

They walked out of the throne room shoulder to shoulder, "Hey, you didn't answer my question." Cynder noted slyly.

Spyro reddened again but not as much as before, "Well…"

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Owen and Jas had entered the forge a couple of minutes ago, Owen knew that Jas needed a good laugh and that was all she was doing once they entered.

"Its not funny." Evan protested. There was a "mutation", as Lan called it, in the Basilisk's curse. Instead of Evan turning to stone he turned to steel, normally if it was stone it would have chipped off because it was brittle and thin, but for some reason Evan turned into an incredibly strong steel that refused to bend or crack. Lan was able to free Evans face though a spell, but it seared Evan's face and it looked like he had sunburn.

Jas wiped away her tears from laughing, "The part I am enjoying the most is the look on your face." Jas picked up the metal that had covered Evan's face off of the table, it was a steel mask that had a ridiculous look on it that might have been called angry or determined, if Evan didn't try so hard.

"Knock it off Jas, its not funny." Evan protested again.

Jas wiped more tears, "I'm sorry, its just, what was going though your mind to have this look on your face?" Jas held up the mask so Evan could see.

Evan had his arm outstretch with his hand open as if he was going to stop something and his legs were spaced apart and angled the right way for digging into the ground for grip. "I thought that it was a dignified pose."

That made Jas burst into laughter once again. Owen had gotten all of his laughter out when he helped get Evan out of the pit. Lan was pacing the forge flipping though his spell book, "As hilarious as this is, which it is, we have to figure a way to get him out."

"Can't you just use the same spell you used to remove the metal off of his face?" Owen asked.

"Yes and no. Yes I can and it will remove the metal. No I will not because I already seared his face with it, and believe me, that was a minor burn." Lan answered without breaking his pacing. "I know that the metal has the same enchantment on it as Evan has, the effects must have transferred into the stone once he fell to the Basilisk's curse. That said, it can _only_ be effected by magic. I can't dispel it since the enchantment is as alive as Evan is, always changing. The only option left is to use the spell I used earlier, one problem though, my precision is not the greatest."

"But aren't you a super strong Mage?" Evan asked.

Lan stopped his pacing, "Strength and precision are two different thing entirely, especially when it comes to magic." Lan said with a bit of annoyance.

The door to the forge opened and Spyro and Cynder entered, Cynder was blushing for some reason, that made six in the room Owen thought. "We heard Evan had some problem." Spyro stated, "Is it a big problem or small one."

"Definitely a big problem." Evan answered. Cynder started to laugh once she saw Evan and Spyro tried to hold back his, "I fail to see the humor in this."

"I don't." Owen replied and Evan shot him a glare, "Oh come on, you know you would be laughing too if it happened to any of us." Owen looked over by Spyro, "Hey Spyro, your covered in sand. What happened?"

Spyro shook himself knocking some of the sand loose, "In short, I got trapped under a pillar and Brad turned it to sand."

Owen raised an eyebrow, "He can do that?"

"Yeah," Spyro answered, "Apparently he can turn sand to stone and stone to sand."

"That is very interesting, but how does that help us?" Evan asked.

Lan cracked a wit this time, "Us, plenty, you, nothing." Evan tried to glare at Lan but he was outside of Evan's vision. Lan had continued his pacing.

The door opened again and a young pale girl walked in that could have been no older than Jas, or so Owen thought. Her face was smooth and fair and her lips were full and red, she had long snow white hair that was in curls. She wore a blue robe that had its sleeves missing but was replaced by a glove that covered her arms from her wrists to her elbow, it extended a bit over the top of her hand and lead to a silver ring that was worn on her middle finger that held the cloth. The robe had a divide in the front down to the floor and was held together at the waist by a silver piece of cloth that acted like a belt, the bottom trim of the robe was silver as well. Along the robes divide and bottom were silver runes similar to Lan's. She wore a short white dress with a silver tint under her robe that went down to her knees and a sash over her left shoulder that hung loose and was a white as her dress. She wore blue boots that went up to her knees and has a diamond pattern down the front in silver. In her right hand she carried a silver staff that was as tall as her and had blue runes running its length. At the top of the staff was a sapphire sphere the size of two fist put together and held by four silver claws that extended from the staff, but they did not touch the sphere, the claws made it that the sphere could not be removed but no part of the sphere touched the staff, it was held suspended by an invisible force.

Owen glanced at Lan when he did not hear his pacing and to his surprise Lan stood in bewilderment looking at the girl who entered. Owen though he knew better but it looked liked Lan could actually be in love. Back on Earth when Lan was Steve he promised on his life that he, 'would never fall for a pretty face, but it wouldn't hurt if she had one.' At least that was then, Owen grinned and Cynder and Jas giggled. Evan was struggling to get free of his prison and Spyro was oblivious to what was going on. Even if Lan fell head over heals for this girl there was always a catch.

The girl spoke up, her voice seemed shy and quiet, "Dose anyone know where I could find Headmaster Hector?"

Lan shook his head as if coming out of a trance as fumbled with words, "He should be in his study…that is if he is there…unless he is not, then he is somewhere else…probably at the University…or helping with the recovery efforts."

"Oh," the girl said disappointedly, she looked around and as if seeing everyone for the first time shied back then saw Evan, "Is there a problem?" She asked quietly. So quiet Owen doubt anyone else heard.

"Yes, there is." Lan said hastily but not as a lost for words a before, "My friends her is trapped inside this metal. It is indestructible aside from effects of magic. I removed some but I am afraid that if I try more I will harm him."

"Can I see that spell you used?" The girl asked a little more confidently. Lan flipped though his spell book then showed the pages to her. Owen tried reading the book once but it was just gibberish to him. "This is a very old spell, why are you afraid that you will harm your friend?"

Lan blushed and scratched the back of his head, "I don't have very good precision and already slightly burned his face, I am afraid that I could do much worse if I am not careful."

The girl read the page again then handed the book back to Lan, "I'm sorry." She said quietly, "But I am afraid that I am to weak to cast the spell efficiently." she turned to the door and Lan stopped her.

"I could perform a mana transfer." Lan suggested putting the book back in his bag.

"But the amount of mana to fully release your friend would be exhausting, even for the Council." The girl protested.

Lan then said calmly, "I removed the metal off of his face and I did not feel any fatigue after."

The girl stood in shock before nodding, "Alright, if you think you can handle it for I know I cannot." Without another word she walked over to Evan and placed her hands on either side of his face. And began speaking gibberish, but Owen knew better, she was speaking Latin which is the language of power and magic in this realm. Lan put his arms over the girl and his hands on hers and began speaking Latin as well but a different incantation. Owen though he could see a glow around them but when he rubbed his eyes it was gone. The metal around Evan began to show white lines that extended like a maze and the metal began to fall off of him with a clang when it hit the floor.

After a few minutes all of the metal had been removed from Evan and he fell to the floor with a gasp, his cloths were drenched in sweat and steam rolled off of his skin. He looked up gratefully at Lan and the girl, "Thank you, you have no idea how great it is to move again."

The girl staggered back a bit but Lan caught her, "Thank you." Lan said to her, "Without your help Evan would have been trapped for much longer."

She stood up fully and face Lan, "It was you who did most of the work, you must have a large supply of mana to perform such a large mana transfer and not be phased. You must be the new Oddity my father was talking about." As if remembering something important she rushed to the door, "I'm sorry but I just remembered I have somewhere to be." She paused and bowed towards Lan, "It has been a pleasure to meet you fellow Mage." with that she darted out of the door not even bothering to close it.

When the girl was gone Lan staggered to a wall and gasped. Owen channeled light performing a Light Step and the world around him blurred, Owen was standing next to Lan and caught him, "Are you alright?" Owen asked.

Lan nodded, "I will be fine, it is to be expected of me to be fatigued after that little stunt."

"Will you be alright?" Spyro asked.

"I will be." Lan said standing then staggered, "Someone bring me my staff." Evan got up and grabbed Lan's staff the was braced up in the corner and handed it to Lan, "I think I will retire to my room for the time being." Lan used his staff for support while he walked.

"I'll help you to your room." Owen offered.

"Yes." Lan agreed, "That would be a good idea." Owen helped Lan out of the forge and down the corridors to Lan's room.

Owen said after awhile in a voice so quiet that only one with extremely good hearing could hear, "Who was that girl?"

Lan replied in an equally quiet voice, "I don't know, but she was lying." Owen looked at Lan puzzled, "She is a very strong Mage and one not to be taken lightly."

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Woot! Another chapter down traveling at the pace I intended. I hope to get another chapter in before classes start but I might get to preoccupied with them to get another chapter down. Wish me luck because I am itching to get the next few chapters done.


	33. Chapter 33

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**For viewer discretion there is graphic writing towards the end of the chapter.**

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**Chapter 33: The Mage's Daughter**

It was well past midday and Ty barely helped with the recovery efforts, he had been to…preoccupied with other things. He sat outside on a hill well outside the city, he had followed the crowd outside through a long tunnel that apparently led outside the city. But that was all this morning and the sun had began its decent to the horizon. The man he found in the tunnels looked an awful lot like himself, he was even undoubtedly a werewolf, but they had not said one word to each other. The man had climbed the hill above the exit of the tunnel and sat down cross legged and motioned Ty to sit across from him. But that was, once again, all this morning. The only thing that the man did was stare into Ty's eyes with contemplation, all Ty could do was the same thing. The man had brown eye's and grey hair that was in contrast to his face, he could have been no older than Ace. He also had wolf-like ears on the top of his head that twitched whenever the people exiting the tunnel were to loud, but then so did Ty's. Unlike Ty, the man had a wolf-like tail that was grey but tipped with white fur and a mane of fur that came down his chest forming a V. When Ty found this man in the tunnel his face was twisted with a feral snarl but now look calm and quite human.

"You got the patients of your mother, I'll give you that." The man said without breaking eye contact. His voice sounded heavy with a slight rumble to it.

Ty nearly fell backwards, he wasn't expecting to hear a word from this man until well past dark, "My mother?"

"Yes, your mother. I should know, I had pups with her." The man grinned, "That would be you and your sister."

Ty leaned forward, "You're my father? You're Cyrus?"

"Yes, that's me." Cyrus answered then looked away. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you and Kimberly. If it was in my power I would have, but I was needed elsewhere and then that damn Alexander." Cyrus had his fists clenched.

Ty paused before asking, "Who…who is my mother?"

Cyrus whipped his head up and looked at him shocked, "What?"

Ty shrank back, "We never knew our mother growing up, although I vaguely remember anything past five years ago."

"That is common." Cyrus agreed, "But your mother…unless…"

"What? Unless what?" Ty asked.

Cyrus shook his head, "Tyler, you have to believe me that your mother has her reasons for not telling you. Although the only one I can think of is that she was protecting both of you. Before you ask you have to know that your mother holds a high position in the Pack and anyone would try to use you against her."

"How would they use us?" Ty asked urgently.

"By killing you." Cyrus replied grimly. Ty was speechless and his face showed. Cyrus clapped Ty on the shoulder, "Lets not talk about such grim things, that is in the past and you are more than capable to handle yourself."

"Yeah." Ty agreed, "Can I ask you one more thing?" Cyrus nodded, "How were you sure that I was your son?"

Cyrus pointed to Ty's hip, "You have my dagger. I entrusted it to the Pack Mother while I was away and to give it to you when you earn your claws." Cyrus stood up and stretched, "I think it is time to head back to the Regnum of Lux Lucis. If were lucky we can make it back before dark."

Ty looked at the sun that was already lower in the sky than it had been a few minutes ago, "But it is already sunset, and the city is miles away." Ty protested at his father's claim.

Cyrus just grinned, "That sounds like a challenge." Cyrus started to run towards the city and started to turn into a werewolf before running on all fours.

Ty called after him but it was no use, Cyrus was already out of earshot, _Damn he is bloody fast._ Ty ran towards the city as well before tuning into a werewolf and running after his father.

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Lan was alone in his room. Owen had left some time ago after pestering him about that girl. Lan tried to explain that he was more surprised than anything. Back on Earth after Owen and Jas disappeared and before he got sent to the Magic Realm he had met a girl, Jess was her name. They started to get to know one another, they weren't dating or anything just really good friends. A few days before he was transported to the Magic Realm tragedy struck. She had been infected and turned into a zombie and Steven, Lan, was forced to put a bullet in her head. Lan shook his head trying to forget that gruesome image. He has tried to live with that guilt since it first happened, but with no success. He was the reason why she was infected in the first place. Shaking his head again he thought, _No use dwindling on the past, what is done is done._ Ever since becoming a Mage it has become easier to suppress that memory, along with others.

Lan drank another mana potion and his face twisted, "To much spiced salt." Lan placed the bottle next to the other empty ones. They didn't have to taste good if they did their job, and he had already drank four. He turned back to the book he as reading, Lan had been behind on his studies lately, although he was technically no longer an Apprentice as far as the title goes he was still Hector's pupil. And sometime Lan wished he still was doing Apprentice classes. There was a knock at the door, "Come in." Lan announced.

The door opened and Hector walked in, "There you are, I have been looking everywhere for you."

Lan turned his chair, "I was busy with releasing my friend from the Basilisk's curse. You see there was a mutation in the curse causing him to turn to steel instead of stone."

"Yes I had heard about that." Hector replied, "I have an important task for you." Lan groaned, "Oh quit your griping. I would like you to be the guardian for someone very special to me."

_Just what I need, wait why is Hector having me do this? Shouldn't someone more experienced do this? Better not to question it._ "I would be honored." Lan replied.

Hector smiled though his long beard. He peaked his head though the door and said, "Come in Alexis." Hector opened the door and nobody came in, "She can be a little shy. Come in Alexis, there is no reason to be shy." A girl walked in with white hair and holding a silver staff with a blue orb at the top. She walked a little behind Hector.

_That is the girl from before!_ Despite the shock Lan kept his composure.

"This is my daughter, Alexis." Hector told Lan. Lan still held his composure, but it was taking every amount of effort he had. "Alexis, this is my student, Lan." Hector faced Lan, "I want you to shepherd Alexis during her stay in Lux Lucis. Escort her where she goes and protect her when needed. Can I count on you?"

Lan nodded, "You can count on me Hector."

Hector's smile widened, "I leave her in your care now." With that Hector left the room leaving them both alone.

Alexis walked over to the other bed opposite from his, _I was wondering why there was a second be in here. Hector you devious mastermind, you planned this from the start!_ Lan looked at Alexis and grimaced,_ Why does Alexis have to look like her?_ Lan turned back to his desk and picked up another potion popping off its glass stopper and drinking its contents. Lan could feel Alexis looking at him, he turned around and sure enough she was. Lan followed her gaze to the empty bottles, "I guess the mana transfer took a little more out of me than I thought." Lan waited for a reply but Alexis stayed mute.

He turned back to his books, Hector said he need to know more on the theory about the source of magic, but the content in the book was contradicting what he was taught on earth. The book says that the source of magic is an infinite source of power on a higher level of existence which flows into the body until the capacity of the body if full of the energy, known as mana. The energy is then concentrated through different methods, most commonly arcane words if the body is not of a magical origin or though will if the body is from a magical one, the prime reason why dragons and humans use magic differently. The book states that mana creates things out of nothing but Lan was taught that energy in neither created or destroyed only be transformed form one state to another. _But does the same rule apply here as on earth?_ Lan thought. He wanted to pull out his hair, the test that he would have to run to find out would take to long and he did not have enough time to run them.

Lan leaned back in his chair and sighed, he looked at his open hand and reached for his mana and whispered, "Calx." he felt the mana in him…stir…that was the only way to describe it, his mana flowed from his body and the area above his hand shimmered and started to become solid. A stone the size of his fist dropped in his hand. _Creating something from nothing…impossible! I refuse to accept that, we don't have that kind of power._ Lan smiled to himself, not having power to create from nothing but enough to destroy a planet. Frowning he felt the rock, it was smooth and slightly rounded, he tried breaking it in his hands but it fail to break. As far as Lan could tell it was a stone, just a stone. _Something from nothing…is it possible? _Lan though over and over the possibility but he could not come to grasp the possibility that everyone has come to accept.

He placed the rock on his desk and returned to his books glancing at the rock occasionally and shaking his head. Lan wanted to know how magic worked, how it exactly worked, not just learn what could be a false truth. The source of magic; what was it, how did it come to exist, how are some able to draw from it while others cannot. What if everyone has been wrong all of these years, could he just destroy what everyone has come to believe, would other believe him if he found the truth. The thought gave him a headache he extinguished the candles on his desk with a simple spell and gave a long yawn. He turned in his chair to look behind him, half expecting Alexis to be staring at him. To his surprise she was out on his small balcony looking up at the stars.

Lan shook his head, _and then there is her_, he tried to look at her but a pang of guilt pulsed through him. Turning to his bead he took off his robe which he thought more and more like a coat each day and for some reason it looked more and more like a coat as time passed, he placed it on a peg next to his bed and pulled off his boots and placed them next to his bed. Bracing his staff against the wall within arms reach he warded the room so he would wake up if someone tried to enter or if he was in any danger…he also added Alexis into the ward so he would wake up if she was in danger as well. Closing his eyes as his head rested on his pillow Lan tried to forget all of the days 'excitement' so he could fall asleep.

* * *

Panting, Ty had pushed his body to it's limits trying to keep up with his father on the return to the city, but he did make it to the city and like Cyrus said they made it back before dark. As Ty entered the city he slowed down and shifted back into his human-like appearance as he had see Cyrus do. The guards looked a little surprised at there arrival and gave them sideways glances. Cyrus patted Ty on the back, "I told you we would make it." Cyrus didn't look one bit fatigued.

The Captain of the guards approached Cyrus cautiously, "Captain? Is that you?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow as the guard removed his helmet revealing a battle worn face with a full black beards and curly black hair.

Cyrus's faced beamed, "Roland, it that you?"

"Yes it is." Roland replied , "But how…I mean…you were…How the Ancestors are you alive?"

Cyrus started to laugh, "Well like they say 'Rumors of my death has been greatly exaggerated'." Cyrus clapped Roland on the shoulder, "How do you say to a round of drinks for the guards on me."

"Oh no Captain, I'm afraid I can't." Roland kindly declined, "As much as I would like, as we all would like," he said gesturing to the guards behind him, "We have to make our rounds."

"Come on now. I'm sure you and your men could spare themselves for a few drinks after." Cyrus retorted, "I know as well as you the importance of keeping the city in line, besides I have some…things I needs to do first."

Roland opened his mouth then closed it, looking to the guards behind him back to Cyrus he finally said, "I suppose after the nightly rounds we could meet you for a few drinks. The regular place I presume?"

Cyrus smiled, "Of course, you know how I like my ale. I expect you to be there with as many guards you can spare."

Roland fingered his helm, "I will try, our remaining forces are spread thin as it is, but I will try my best."

"Don't make it sound like someone's life depends on it, try to have some fun in life, you always were a little serious." Cyrus said sarcastically.

"Yes sir. Sir?" Roland asked, "Will you be the Captain now that you are back?"

"You are going to ask Ace about that." Cyrus replied, "To be honest that uniform looks better on you than it did on me."

Roland saluted, "As you say sir."

Cyrus saluted back, "Best of luck on your rounds gentlemen." he said to the guards a motioned Ty to follow. As Ty past the guards he heard them murmuring about his father, as far as he could tell they were in awe. Once they were well into the city Cyrus had led Ty to the castle grounds. It was a part of the castle grounds Ty had never seen before. It looked like a training yard but the entire courtyard was covered in grass, not tall mind you but about ankle height. Dew was already forming on the grass and the walls looked like they were covered in vines, those he could see anyways for there were several trees throughout this landscape. Cyrus took a deep breath in, "It's good to be back among the living." Cyrus fell to the ground on his back and stared at the sky, "The moons are beautiful tonight, I wonder if your mother is seeing this."

Ty looked up at the moons, they were almost full, at least the small one was, but then he never really cared for the larger one. "I don't know." Ty answered Cyrus. He had so many questions and didn't know where to start. It was then that he noticed Cyrus was staring at Ty more specifically his dagger. Ty pulled it out of the sheath and looked at the blade, it seemed to give a faint glow, he held up to the moons and he could hear a small ringing almost like a distant echo.

"You don't know how to use it, do you?" Cyrus asked, Ty brought down his dagger and started at Cyrus, "That has been passed down for several generations, it was given to me by my father when I gained my claws and now it is yours now that you have yours."

Ty held the dagger up to the moons again and the ringing came back, louder this time, "You said I don't know how to use it, what do you mean by that?"

Cyrus sat up, "That is no ordinary dagger, it is made from a special material that is only found in one place." Cyrus looked up at the moons.

Following Cyrus's gaze, "The moon, it is made from the moon?"

"Only the small one, the one that harbors the changing of our kind." Cyrus paused, "Long ago when the werewolves were battling for dominance in the Pack the Wolf Mother was having trouble keeping order. Our Ancestor prayed to the moon for something to stop the madness, a piece of rock nearly hit him as it fell from the sky. At first he thought the moon was mad at him for asking for help, but then he had an idea, he took the rock to a blacksmith to forge him a weapon from the rock. Unfortunately there was only enough to make a dagger, but he gladly took it and returned home. He ended the chaos with the power the moon had provided him, and now it is passed down to the first born son of each generation as a symbol of peace within the Pack."

Ty looked at the dagger and shook his head, "How did he restore peace with this thing? It is just a dagger."

The next thing Ty knew he was on his back and the dagger out of his hand, Cyrus was sitting on top of Ty dagger in hand, "It is more than a mere dagger, best you remember that." Cyrus got up, "Now it will take some time for you to properly use it but you will get the hang of it soon enough." Cyrus flourished his hand with the dagger in it out towards his side, there was faint blue flash from the dagger and in its place was a scimitar with runes along it's length in a language that he did not recognize, the blade itself was giving off a slight blue glow and there was a ringing sound that Ty could only describe as pure. The scimitar was about the length of Cyrus's arm. Cyrus felt the length of the blade in his hands, "It has been a great while since I last held this blade." Cyrus held the scimitar in front of Ty, "I give you Lupus Vesica, Wolf Blade, it's namesake for all of our kin it has killed. It is yours now." Cyrus handed Ty the blade and in a flash of faint blue light it turned back into a dagger.

"What happened?" Ty asked.

"You need to learn how to control the blade, it is not a weapon but something that lives and it does not think you strong enough to wield it's true form." Cyrus answered.

Ty flourished his hand like his father did but nothing happened, "How do I show it that I am strong enough?"

Cyrus shrugged his shoulders, "It decides how to test you and finding out what the test is only half of the challenge. The blade can only be truly wielded by a wolf and that wolf must have enough heart to prove itself."

"What does that mean?" Ty asked.

Cyrus shrugged his shoulders again, "It is the only thing I can remember when Lupus tested me, finishing the test is vague almost forgotten."

"So the blade…Lupus…is alive?"

"In a sense, yes. It has a level of consciousness but enough to make choices, mainly who is worthy of it." Cyrus patted Ty on the shoulder, "You will prove yourself in time, put it out of your mind for now. I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me so where do you want to start?"

_Where to start indeed_, Ty thought, "Well what I would like to know is…"

* * *

Standing with a gun in his hands Steve yelled, "Don't make me do it Jess!" slowly the lumbering figure limped forward. She was so beautiful before, her sleek jet black hair was now dank and matted, her once smooth face now wrinkled and dead, her once bright eyes now dull and lifeless. "Jess! Listen to me, your sick, we can get you help." that was a lie, there was no cure for what has taken hold of Jess, but Steve wanted to believe there was. Jess stopped and turned her head to Steve then charged with a blood curling scream, "Jess no!" Steve pulled the trigger, his heart stopped.

In front of Lan stood Alexis with a bloody hole in her head, she reached up to feel it then looked at Lan for an answer, for why he did it. Alexis dropped to the ground. Lan threw the gun out of his hand and rushed to her side, "Alexis! No, no, no!"

Hector walked up to him with horror on his face, "What have you done? I entrusted her to you and you killed her! Why Lan, I trusted you."

"Yes Lan we trusted you." Lan looked in his arms and Alexis was staring up at him, "Why did you kill me Lan?"

Alexis shifted to look like Jess, "You killed me," back to Alexis, "now I will kill you." Lan turned and tried to run only to be blocked by the citizens of his home town on earth. He turned back to see Jess and Alexis standing side by side with blood gushing from the hole in their forehead. Behind them were his friends and mostly everyone he had met in the Magic Realm.

"You can't run Lan." Alexis said and Jess said simultaneously, "You can't run Steven." They lunged at him pinned him to the ground as the onlookers descended upon him pulling on him, it felt like he was being ripped apart.

All Lan could heard was a jumble of words over his own screams, "Why did you kill her." "You will die." "This will hurt less than what you put her through." and other such ratings. Lan felt his arm pulled off his body as he felt his middle torn open, the pain was agonizing and unbearable. A scream escaped Lan's mouth but he couldn't scream for his throat was ripped out by a man Lan recognized as his former English teacher. Lan saw the monsters ripping him apart feeding on his innards as his head came off of his bloody body. The pain was to much, the thought of how he was alive didn't ever cross his mind. He was looking at a face with blood around it's mouth and recognized it as Jess, then Alexis, then Jess again. She brought his head to her mouth and bit into his head.

Lan shot up in his bed in a cold sweat panting. He was in his room with his blankets in a jumbled mess. It was twilight, just around the time he always wake up at. Lan cupped his head in his hands, _A dream, it was only a dream_. Trying to get the gruesome image out of his head he walked over to the washstand and splashed cold water in his face. Lan's logical mind returning he told himself, _There was nothing you could have done to help Jess, even if you had magic at your disposal you would have only vaporized her_. Lan disabled the ward on the room and reached for his coat…robe…and looked over at Alexis's bed, she was not in it. Looking over to the balcony Lan saw Alexis staring up at the sky. Putting one arm in his coat sleeve he hesitated and noticed how cold she looked. He pulled his arm out of the sleeve and walked over to Alexis and wrapped it around her. She looked up at him with a questioning look.

"You looked like you were cold." Lan answered the unasked question. Alexis gave a small smile back at him and drew it tighter around herself. Looking up at the sky he saw the grey pre-morning sky, "What were you looking at?" after a moment of silence Lan looked at Alexis who was staring at the sky then looked at Lan and shook her head. Lan sighed, "Alright, your not in a talking mood, that's fine." Lan walked over to the door and paused on the door handle, _I can't leave her alone. _Turning around he saw that Alexis was looking at the sky again, "Do you want to joint me for my morning walk?" Alexis slowly turned so she was looking at him over her shoulder, "Come on, they sky is not going anywhere." Alexis looked back up at the sky then regretfully walked over by Lan. As he opened the door he said, "You have to tell me sometime what you were looking at." Alexis stayed mute, _Odd girl_, Lan thought to himself.

Lan lead Alexis out into the garden and the morning dew was glistening on every blade of grass and on every flower petal. The Palace Gardens were beautiful in the morning, it helped calm Lan especially after dreams…no nightmares like last night. Lan glanced at Alexis and saw that she was admiring the gardens beauty with openly. Lan smiled to himself, "Come on, I want to show you something." Leading Alexis by the hand he quickened his pace.

Through a tunnel of flowered archways that shimmered with dew Lan lead Alexis to his favorite spot in the garden. It was shaded now but in a few moments it would be the crown jewel of the gardens. Alexis looked around as if she would rather be in the part of the garden they just came from, "Just wait, not much longer." Lan encouraged her. He pointed to a large hedge shaped like two angels back to back with hands and wings upward and outstretched. As the sun peaked over the wall behind them it touched the angels and the dew glistened. Lan heard Alexis gasp. The angels shown so bright that, if you didn't know better, you might think they were glass or diamond. The surrounding flowers also caught the light reflecting even more radiance. Flowers unfolded and shown with their own beauty and the marble statues that decorated the garden shone white and smooth as they seemed to be alive. Lan now knew that it was a trick of the eye but it was still breathtaking. As the sun rose higher the garden dimmed it's intensity but the image still shined in Lan's mind. Lan felt the warmth of the sun on his back and welcomed it. He looked down at Alexis who's mouth hung open, Lan wondered if he wore a similar expression when he first saw this magnificent sight.

After Lan gave time for Alexis to recover from her bewilderment he said, "Come on, I want you to meet some friends of mine." Alexis stood in her place as he started to walk away, when he didn't hear her footsteps he turned around to see her looking at her shuffling feet, "Is something wrong?" Alexis looked up and shook her head then walked over to his side, "If you don't want to you don't have to." Alexis shook her head again. Lan was uncertain, "Well if you are alright with it come with me." Lan continued back into the castle with Alexis behind him. Lan started to wonder if he would ever get a word out of her. He heard a small sound come from Alexis, so quiet that he didn't quite hear it, "Say again?"

Saying a little louder, but not by much, Alexis said, "Thank you for showing me that, it was very beautiful."

Lan almost tripped over his feet, he was sure he would be talking to himself all day, "Don't mention it, 'The treasures of the world are meant to be shared with everyone.'" Lan quoted, Alexis just smiled back, a small smile. Lan smiled to, _Maybe Alexis is not _that_ odd._

* * *

**Sorry for being gone for so long, class sucks, but necessary and I finally got some sort of daily routine going for me. How long it will last we'll have to see. I want to get this story over and done with before the end of the year but we will see how that will go over as well. I will hopefully be updating regularly but the holidays are coming up and those always take up time. Next Chapter out soon, I hope.**


	34. Chapter 34

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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* * *

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Chapter 34: The Coming Storm

"Give it back!" Even demanded reaching across the dinning table at Kim.

Kim laughed and threw the metal mask towards her brother, "Your right Jas, Even was trying to hard." Ty said. Even lunged at Ty but he tossed it away and landed on Spyro's plate.

Spyro groaned, "I think I just lost my appetite." Even snatched the mask of his face from Spyro's plate muttering curses under his breath.

Owen couldn't help but grin. "So what are you going to do with that?"

"Get rid of it, preferably in its destruction." Even replied un-amused.

"I think you should keep it," Cynder said, then quickly added, "as a memento."

Even barked a laugh, "Yeah right." Even lost his footing when he tripped over a bowl that had fell on the floor in his attempt to get his mask back and the mask flew out of his hands towards the door.

Owen's face paled when the door start to open, the mask still speeding towards it. Acting on impulse Owen leapt out of his seat channeling light towards the door, but it was to late. Owen, through a blur, saw Lan and a girl stepped through the door. Lan grabbed the girl close to him and dropped to the ground, the mask grazed Lan's hair and imbedded itself in the wall behind. When Owen blinked he was standing next to Lan. Owen helped both Lan and the girl up, "Are you alright?"

Lan dusted himself off and turned his attention to the girl, "Are you ok?" the girl, a little stunned, nodded. "You sure?' The girl nodded more confidently this time. Lan breathed a sigh of relief, he turned around and pulled the mask out of the wall with a grunt. As Even walked by Lan handed the mask to him, "I think this is yours."

"Thanks, now to destroy this thing before it causes more harm." Even said gruffly.

Lan called after Even, "You need magic for that!" but Even didn't hear him.

Owen noticed that the girl with Lan was the one from yesterday and that she was wearing his coat. Owen grinned, "There is sill some food left if you want any." he then took his place next to Jas and subtly nudged her then tapped his head.

_What's up?_ Jas asked inside Owen's mind.

_That is the same girl from the forge yesterday_. Owen replied.

_Yeah, so?_ Jas questioned.

_Lan said that she is a strong mage._ Owen answered.

_Not only that Alexis is also Hector's daughter._

Owen paused, _How do you know that?_

_Lan just said so._

_Right, I sill am not that good at talking with someone in my head and paying attention to what's happening._ Owen said.

_Well it sounds like she is staying in the castle for the time being. _Jas said and then withdrew from Owen's mind.

"So your father is Hector?" Owen asked, the girl nodded slightly, "So that means…" Owen felt as if his mind was being stabbed, although that is no entirely accurate, it was more like Owen became aware of something, something that was very evil. "I have to go." Owen said only to realize that he and Spyro said it at the same time. Owen ran out of the dinning hall with Spyro at his side.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Spyro asked.

"I feel something, and I don't like it." Owen said running towards a window and jumped out of it turning into a dragon. Owen flew like he never flew before with Spyro right behind him, to where he did not know but he had to find out what was causing this feeling.

* * *

Even raised a hammer and brought it down onto his mask and the hammer shattered. The pieces defected off of his skin without harm, the same was for the mask. Even threw the hammer handle by the others, _That makes four._ Even heard three raps at the door, "Come in."

Chad walked in a threw a small package at Even, "Here, since everyone is so forgetful around here _I_ had to get this."

Even caught the package in one hand, "And what is this?"

"Protection against magic." Chad replied.

Even undid the leather wrapping to reveal a round gold belt buckle with five gems in it. There were four gems that were split into fourths of circles with the split making a plus. The gems going clockwise were; ruby, topaz, sapphire, and emerald. In the center of it all was a purple marble sized gem that seemed to swirl with energy. The other gems themselves seemed to swirl too. _Where did the diamond come from? _Even thought,_ Wasn't the ruby on top? Were did the topaz go?_ The gems were shifting from one color to another, all except for the purple gem in the center.

"So how does this work?" Even asked. Chad charged at Even, spun completely around in a circle with black flames on his arms and shot them at Even. As they approached Even noticed that all of the gems on the belt buckle turned black except for the one in the center which glowed softly. Even was consumed by darkness and for a second he lost all of his senses. Once the sensation passed he collapsed to the ground fatigued. "What was that?" Even asked gasping.

"What you are feeling now is the cost of using the belt buckle." Chad said, "It will take as much of your physical strength that is needs to deflect magic. It will only take your strength while you are conscious so if you faint while using it you don't have to worry about being drained. One last thing, the belt buckle cannot deflect Convexity so avoid it if you see it." Chad walked out of the forge once he got Even onto a chair.

Even sighed and looked down at the color shifting belt buckle, "I completely forgot about this, but Fate told me to get this. How did Chad know?"

* * *

Lan was outside the city with his back towards it, sitting on a hillside. Alexis wanted to get out of the city, something about it being to stuffy. She hadn't said much since then, although Lan though his friends made a good impression on her. A breeze blew through the grass and Lan leaned back his head and breathed in. "Hey Alexis, if don't mind me asking, why are you so quiet?" Alexis shied away from the question, "If you don't want to talk about it that's fine. I was just curious is all."

"A few years ago my brother almost died." Alexis started. Lan was startled at first, not that she had a brother, but that she was talking not in a whisper. "He had a disease called Manna Decay. It slowly sapped the amount of manna he could hold and if he lost all of his manna, as I'm sure you know, he would die."

Alexis was quiet again, Lan hesitated, "Did he…did he make it?"

Alexis stayed quiet then said, "Yes, he is still alive thanks to father." Alexis paused, "To save him father had to do something that was tabooed by the Mages Society. Father turned him into a Sentinel."

"Forgive me but I only know that much about Sentinels, could you explain better what they are?" Lan asked.

"Certainly." Alexis replied, "During the War of Magi people who had the potential to use magic but not become mages where transformed into Sentinels. A Sentinel was suppose to be the ultimate warrior, they would not age, need to eat, drink, or sleep. This was their original design although there was an unforeseen side effect. The Sentinels who were strong enough could expel all of their manna to do amazing things, things that not a hundred mages could do combined. For example there was a recorded event where a Sentinel made time actually stop for a short period of time."

Lan gapped, "That's amazing, and your brother is one. Wait…Alexis…why were Sentinels tabooed?"

Alexis turned her head away from Lan, "There was also another side effect of this, the Sentinels were mentally unstable and would eventually go insane. Insanity and power have bad results, most documents were destroyed during that time but the mages started to make control charms to control the Sentinels. It was in blood, lives, and magic did the Spell Crafters of old had to pay to correct their mistakes, and now my brother is one of those mistakes." Alexis winched, "Not that I'm saying that my brother is a mistake just…just what happened to him." Alexis sighed, "I guess why I am so quiet is because I never really got over it."

Lan hesitated to ask, "Is there a way to change him back?"

"There use to be a way but is has been long forgotten." Alexis replied, "There is one thing I forgot to mention, my brother doesn't have a control charm, he still has his sanity, but for how much longer I do not know."

Lan's mind was racing with possibilities and new idea's he never thought of before, he then noticed that Alexis was crying and Lan felt the book bag at his side that held his spell book. _Maybe I can find the answers in there._ "Alexis." Lan said getting her attention, "I will do whatever is in my power to free your brother and return him back to normal."

Alexis threw her arms around Lan, and he was caught so off guard that he nearly fell over, "Thank you Lan, if anyone can help him it is you."

* * *

After an entire day of vigorous flying Owen and Spyro were exhausted, "How much farther do you think it is?" Owen asked.

"I don't know." Spyro answered, "But if we haven't seen the source yet, I'm not sure I want to find it."

Owen saw a small lake below them, "Lets take a break, we have been at it all day." Spyro nodded and they flew down to the lake.

Upon landing Spyro transformed out of his dragon form and cupped his hands like a bowl so he could drink. "Hey Owen?" Spyro asked.

"What?"

"Do you think we should have told someone? I mean, trying to find this source of evil on our own, it was kind of stupid."

Owen sighed, "I thought so too at first, but as we got closer and found nothing I started to think. Maybe we should do some recon and report back to my dad, just to be safe."

"That sounds like a good idea." Spyro agreed, "Better safe then sorry."

Owen started to drink some more from the lake but he heard a slight rumbling in the distance. Bringing his cupped hands full of water away from his face he asked, "Do you hear something?"

"No, why?" Spyro asked bringing his head up from the lake.

"I can hear something in the distance." Owen stood up and listened, it sounded like it was still a ways off but he couldn't pinpoint the source. The ground underneath his feet started to give off slight tremors and small ripples were forming in the lake.

Spyro backed away from the lake, "I hear it now, you don't think?"

"Yes I do." Owen said and darted off up a hill that nestled the lake and his heart skipped a beat. In the distance, about three leagues was a huge tower that seemed to be moving on four spidery legs. From this distance if Owen stick out his thumb for distance comparison the tower would be bigger.

"Ancestors." Spyro said hollowly. Owen didn't even notice that Spyro had followed him up the hill.

Owen as gaping, "That thing is massive!"

"Is it the source of this energy?" Spyro asked the question that did not need the answer. "We have to go warn everyone. We have to…Owen…Owe…"

To Owen Spyro became a muffled sound that was covered up by another's voice. "Come. Come." Owen wanted to do what the voice said but didn't know why. Slowly his vision began to home in on the tower as it appeared to be closer, he saw a pale man in one of the windows gesturing with his hand, "Come. Come." for some reason Owen's feet started to move though he was dimly aware of that. As the tower became more clear Owen's vision started to center on the pale man, it was then that Owen realized that is was Nexus but that didn't alarm him at all or cause any concern.

Owen heard in the distance a faint muffled yell, "O…Ow…n." As it became louder it was recognized as Spyro, "Ow…n…st…p!" Slowly Owen regained his mind and wondered how he started to walk, "Owen stop!" Shaking his head out of his trance Owen realized that he was balanced on the edge of a cliff with one leg caught in mid-step. "Snap out of it!" Spyro yelled.

Realizing that he was a half step away from stepping off of a cliff Owen jumped back, "What happened?"

"You tell me, you spaced out and started walking to the edge of the cliff." Spyro said a little frantic.

Owen looked back at the tower and his vision started to home in on the tower again. Quickly turning away he said, "Come on we have to go." Owen leapt into the air and turned into a dragon.

Spyro caught up to Owen, "What is it?"

"It's Nexus, he's back." Owen answered with an edge of hatred on it.

* * *

It was getting close to dark, there was maybe an hour or two of sunlight left. Lan had managed to keep Alexis talking for most of that time trying to get to know her better, and to be honest she seemed to be enjoying herself. "So Lan." Alexis said then stayed quiet.

"What?" Lan pressed.

Alexis shook her head, "No, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"If you have something to say then say it." Lan said causally, "I'm all ears."

Alexis hesitated, "Father always said it was rude but…" Alexis paused, "I don't know how I should ask this or if I even should but, why is there a seal on your chest?"

Lan blinked, "That's it?" Alexis nodded thinking she had offended. Lan threw back his head and started to laugh, whipping a tear from his eye he said, "I was wondering when that would come up, and don't worry, I'm not offended at all." Lan pulled down the neck of his shirt so the center of his chest was visible. A black symbol appeared on his chest, at the center it looked like a small sunburst with wavy arms. Around the sunburst was a circle of fire that was broken into five equal pars and above each segment was what almost looked like a claw pointing in the clockwise direction. "This is a level five manna seal. It was placed on me by Hector after my Shaping, literally."

"What do you mean?" Alexis asked.

Lan let go of his shirt so his seal was covered, "As soon as I regained consciousness from the Shaping ritual I told them my name and stood up. I wasn't accustomed to this body so I ended up dropping my staff and when that happened I…I…" Lan sighed, "I don't know what it was but I felt alive, that is that only way to describe it. It was the sure pleasure of life, unconcentrated manna without any impurities."

"That must have been quite a feeling." Alexis said.

"If I could describe the feeling it would be the most amazing thing I have ever felt in my life." Lan said putting emphasis in his words, "But I then I realized that Hector was shouting orders at the other mages. They started using the Ritual Chamber to seal my manna because, unbenounced to me, the sheer magnitude of my manna was ripping the area around me apart. Now the seal itself did not hurt, but having that feeling of pure life taken away, it made me feel a little empty on the inside." Lan sounded a little sad towards the end.

"So why did your manna increase so drastically after dropping your staff?" Alexis asked.

Lan picked up his staff next to him, "Normally a mage's staff increases the power of the wielder, this is also true for me, but mine has an extra effect. It can act as a dampener to weaken the magnitude of my spells."

Alexis paused, "But why?"

Lan weighed his staff in his hands, "The only thing I can think of is that it is natures way of making sure that my power is kept under control." Lan paused, "There is one more thing about my staff that I noticed." Alexis looked at Lan questionably, "Threw much observing and spell I found out that the spell on my staff that dampens my manna is was not part of the original design of the staff."

"How can you tell?" Alexis asked.

"Look at the seal on the staff." Lan pointed at the flows of manna in and around the staff the suppressed manna as opposed to the flows that amplified manna. "The flows that suppress manna are placed over the one that amplifies manna meaning that it was placed after the staff was made. And if my understanding about the Shaping ritual is correct, the only time a staff's enchantment can be change is right at the point when an apprentice is transformed into their new form, which is less than an instant."

Alexis was stunned, "Who has that kind of timing?"

"I don't know." Lan said deep in thought, "There is one last thing, the manna suppressing enchantment is degrading. It is very slow mind you, but it will dispel itself eventually."

"How long do you think until it is gone?" Alexis asked.

Lan shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Ah…say about a couple decades or more." Lan placed his staff on the ground, "Like I said, it is a slow decay and it will take time to predict how long utile it is dispelled."

**

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**

Really sorry that this chapter was soooooooooooooo late. Next chapter out soon…hopefully. And thanks for all of those that have stuck with me through my absence and to those who subscribed.

**The reason why this was so late is, really long story short, my computer was on the fritz again, took it to Best buy. After many tests and scans they decided to wipe my computer. All of my memory and files were gone as in my computer was fresh off the shelf clean. But my computer was still glitching so I took it to another Best buy and, like I suspected, the graphics card was shot. Got a new one and for the past two weeks I have been trying to recreate all of my files, still am. Anyways with that aside life goes on.**


	35. Chapter 35

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**Chapter 35: A Night to Remember**

Ty and his father were sitting in the grove that his father showed him the night they first met. It we nearing dark, Cyrus led Ty out there a little while ago and he was going to show Ty some fighting techniques. "Where should we start?" Cyrus asked.

"I thought you would know, this was your idea after all." Ty retorted.

Cyrus scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Yeah I guess you're right." Crossing his arms he mumbled to himself, "Now where to start? I guess I could show him that, but he wouldn't have the stamina. That could work, although he has yet to reach that mentality. Hmm, that could work." Cyrus clapped his hands together, "Alright, lets start with…"

"Cy!" a mans voice yelled. Ty looked over thinking someone had called him instead. Ace was running at them at full speed disappearing in a flash of light and reappearing just to disappear and reappear again only closer. Ace had appeared next to them after a burst of light and bent over panting.

Cyrus stood up quickly to help his friend. "What's wrong?" Ace was out of breath and gulping air, "Ace what happened." Ace was gasping for air, "Ben!"

After Ace caught his breath he spoke, "I thought we had more time. Cyrus, I'd hate to ask you so soon but events have moved more quickly than I originally thought." Ace paused, "I need you to call the Pack for battle. Nexus is back."

Cyrus grabbed Ace by both arms, "Are you sure?" Ace nodded, "How long do we have?"

"Less than a week I fear, maybe less." Ace answered grimly.

"I will depart without delay. I'm sorry son, we will have to postpone our training until later." Cyrus bolted off towards the groves exit at blinding speed.

Ty got up to follow Cyrus but a voice interrupted him, "Stop!"

Looking around for the voice but failed, "Did you hear something just now?" he asked Ace.

"No I haven't." Ace replied still a little winded, "Now if you excuse me I have to ready the troops." Ace ran out of the grove, slower than when he first entered.

Ty started to leave but that voice interrupted him again, "Stop!"

"Who's there?" Ty called out.

"Sit." The voice commanded, it had a tone of authority along with an edge. Ty reluctantly and cautiously sat down, "Name."

"Just who and where are you?" Ty asked.

"Name." The voice said harsher.

Ty sighed, "Ty."

"Name!" the voice yelled.

Ty jumped, the voice seemed to be coming from al directions, "Tyler."

"Good." The voice sounded pleased which took off some of the edge.

"Just what do you want with me?" Ty asked.

"Loyalty." the voice said curtly.

Ty stood up and grabbed the hilt of his dagger, "That is not an answer. Now come out and show yourself."

"Sit." The voice ordered.

"Where are you?" Ty demanded pulling out his dagger, "Who are you?" The dagger in Ty's hand started to give off a bluish glow and burn in his hand. Ty dropped it with a curse.

There was a blue flash as the dagger fell and the dagger turned into a scimitar much like when Cyrus used it but with distinct differences, like there here no markings on the blade and it did not have quite the same sense of power. The sword stuck into the ground hilt up. In a booming voice that was so sharp it could cut steel the voice echoed, "I am Lupus Vesica!"

Lan was leaning Alexis down the castle corridor to where their room was located. On their way they ran into Hector, he raised an eyebrow, "Out for an _all_ day stroll?"

Lan bowed, "Greetings Headmaster. I was just showing Alexis the city."

"Is that so?" Hector asked stroking his beard, "Alexis would you excuse us? I have to assess Lan's progress."

Alexis nodded and said meekly, "Yes father." and continued down the hall.

Once in Hector's study Lan took a seat in front of the desk as Hector sat behind it. Hector leaned forward, "I take it Alexis is getting on well with you and your friends?"

Lan gaped a little taken off guard, "I thought you said that you were going to assess my progress?"

"I did," Hector replied with a sly grin, "but I did not say what I would assess. As you may know Alexis is a little shy, she has been constantly moved from place to place never staying in one location for long."

"Why is that?" Lan inquired.

Hesitating Hector sighed, "To be quite honest she is on the run."

"From who?" Lan asked.

"I can't tell you." Hector answered.

"Can't, or don't want to?" Lan pressed.

Hector stood up, "That's enough! You should know not to go digging into an old man's affairs."

Lan stood up as well, "With all due respect Master, I am the one who seems to be buried in an old man's affairs."

They stood staring each other down for a while then Hector started to laugh, "You're all right Lan." Hector sat back down in his chair and Lan did the same. "That wit of yours will get you out of allot of trouble, as well as get you into trouble I suppose." Hector laughed again joined by Lan. Hector leaned back and sighed, then groaned, "I'm getting old Lan, an old man with not as much time as I would like."

Lan hesitated asking, "Are you…are you dying?"

"What? No!" Hector barked, "I still have some fight in me left, though…not as much as I would like." Hector rubbed his forehead, "I could have chose hundreds of other mages to watch over my daughter but you are the…friendliest…out of all of them. Call it a fathers grief but I know I will not always be there for Alexis, but I would like someone to be there for her." Hector glanced down towards Lan, "I have already made my decision. Lan, you are my successor."

"I beg your pardon?" Lan asked.

Hector sat up in his chair, "You will take over the University from me when I pass and as an old man's request please look after my daughter because someone is after her and will hurt her."

Lan suddenly felt heavy with the future responsibility of the University trusted upon him. Lan ran his fingers through his hair, "Wow, I…I don't know what to say."

"If you need time to think about it do so." Hector encouraged. Lan started to leave, "One more thing, don't let Alexis know and even if you don't want to be Headmaster please strongly consider about protecting Alexis."

With a nod to Hector Lan left the study. As the door clicked behind him he leaned on the door and sighed, "Headmaster huh?" Lan scratched his head, "Headmaster Lan…eh I'll give the thought some time before I decide."

Spyro was exhausted from the long fly back to the castle, but he couldn't sleep. _How are we going to fight an army of that size?_ Spyro asked himself and sighed. _I suppose they expect me to pull off something to save everyone, but I am just one dragon._ Spyro realized that he shouted the last part.

"I know how you feel." Spyro looked around and saw Own sitting precariously on a balcony. He seemed to be fingering a small metal box.

"Sorry." Spyro said, "It's just that now that I know what we are facing, I'm not so sure anymore."

The metal box Owen was fingering had a small hinge on it and with a flick of his wrist it opened up and with another it snapped shut, "Yeah, me too." Owen looked at the metal box then back out on the horizon flicking the box open and close.

Spyro walked over to the balcony and placed his fore-paws on the railing, "Hey Owen? What was with you back there?" Owen's box flicked shut, "You looked like you were possessed or something."

Owen paused and looked at the box, with a flick of his wrist the box opened and a small flame appeared. Over and over Owen said an unintelligible word. Glancing at Spyro Owen shook his head and snapped the box shut dousing the flame, "Come, that is what I heard and I obeyed."

"How did you do that?" Spyro asked a little startled.

"Spyro…there is something you need to know." Owen muttered grimly.

Spyro tried to get a better look at the box, "How did you make a that flame?"

"Spyro just listen to me first." Owen said leaning his head back. Spyro stayed quiet and after a pause Owen sighed, "You are not the only one who has a dark side." Spyro gasped but let Owen continue, "When I was passed out in the Temple so long ago, that was not why I was unconscious."

Spyro hesitated, "What do you mean?"

Owen rubbed his eyes, "The battle before that night Nexus had some kind of black sphere and was going to thrust it into Jas, but I leapt in front of her and took the sphere instead. I now think that that sphere awakens the dark half of a person and Nexus was going to control the dark half of Jasmine to gain access to her powers. As for why I don't know, but the fact of the matter is that I have a dark half because of that and Nexus can influence me through it."

"Why haven't you told anyone?" Spyro demanded.

Owen gave a weak chuckle, "Please Spyro, its not like anyone can do anything about it."

"You still could have told us!" Spyro exclaimed.

"I know, but it just would have caused a worry." Owen said calmly, "But that is not why I am telling you now." pausing Owen faced Spyro, "The reason why is because awhile back Fa…there was a seal put on my dark half that suppressed it. Now that seal is wearing off and when it does I will fight it for this body." Owen paused, "Spyro, when the seal breaks I want you and Chad to get everyone away from me as fast and as far as possible."

"Why me?" Spyro asked.

Owen got really serious, "Because Chad can use his dark portals to get everyone away and your stronger than me." Owen paused, "Also, if I lose I want you to do something for me."

Spyro shook his head, "No, Owen, don't ask me to…"

"I want you to kill this body for it won't be mine anymore." Owen said seriously.

"No, I can't. Owen you are my friend, you can't expect me to kill you." Spyro argued.

"I'm not asking you to kill me," Owen barked, "I'm asking you to kill this body when it is no longer mine." Spyro stayed quiet, "Spyro!"

Spyro shook his head, "I'm sorry, I can't.'

"Then do me this." Owen said standing on the railing of the balcony, "Delay me as long as you can so everyone can get away. After that…after that…" Owen stayed quiet, "I will sacrifice my soul to destroy the darkness."

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked.

Owen sat back down, "I once read that one of my ancestors sacrificed her soul to save her family from a great evil that had killed her. She sacrificed her existence to save the ones she loved."

Spyro was astonished, _So either I kill Owen or he will be lost forever._ he thought. There was a long eerie pause, "Owen…if those are the only choices I guess…I guess you leave me no choice."

Owen's face brightened, "You mean you will?"

Spyro nodded, "Yes, I can't have you destroy yourself so I guess."

"Say it." Owen demanded.

"What?" Spyro asked taken aback.

"Say it aloud so there is not a sliver of a doubt." Owen urged.

Spyro paused then gulped, "If your taken over by darkness I will…"

"I promise." Owen corrected.

"I promise that I will kill it." Spyro said shakily.

Owen sighed, "Thanks Spyro, at the risk of sounding morbid, that means a lot to me."

"Your welcome?" Spyro said uncertain.

"But I'm sure it won't have to come to that." Owen said swinging his legs back over the balcony, "I'm confident that I stand a chance against Umbra."

"Who?" Spyro asked.

Owen shrugged, "It is what the darkness in me calls itself, but enough about that. It shouldn't be anything to worry about."

"Then why did you make me promise?" Spyro asked a confused.

"A precaution, now what did you want to know?" Own looked at his hand that was holding the metal box, "Oh yeah, this thing." Owen held an outstretched arm to show Spyro what he had. There was a black spade engraved on the front of the metal box, "This is called a Zippo lighter, here I'll show you how it works."

Ty sat crossed legged in the center of the glade that was secluded in the castle. His hand still hurt from when Lupus burned him. It was well into the night and Lupus had been ranting on about how much of a twit and weakling Ty was, but was also told to do as Lupus said. _Lupus_ said to be quiet. _Lupus_ said to sit. _Lupus_ said to pay attention. _Lupus_ said to listen. Ty was starting to wonder how his father put up with an arrogant blade.

"…and how the bloody hell do you expect to use _my_ power?" Lupus Vesica continued, his voice cutting the air, "Your father was a much stronger wolf then you could ever hope to be. You are no more than a pup just off of your mothers tit! Why did Cyrus have to have a son so weak? You don't even have the quality to wield a blade of my magnitude. Do you not agree?" Ty stayed quiet following the order of silence. "I asked you a question!"

Ty shuddered from the sharpness of Lupus' voice, "I don't think your giving me a chance."

"I thought I told you to be quiet!" Lupus barked.

"You told me to answer your question!" Ty yelled back, "How am I suppose to follow two contradicting commands?"

"You follow the better one without complaining you bloody twit!" Lupus shouted back. "A solider is suppose to follow commands without hesitation."

Ty stood up, "I'm not a solider!"

"I told you to sit." Lupus commanded.

"Shut up!" Ty barked, "I don't have to put up with this kind of treatment." turning around Ty started off for the exit at a stomping pace.

"I command you to sit." Lupus ordered.

"Shove it up your hilt!" Ty yelled behind him. There was a pure note that sounded through the air, and in that note sounded like laughing. Ty turned around, Lupus was laughing at him, "What's so damn funny?"

Lupus continued laughing, "You are, your remind me of your father the first time I showed myself to him. He was young and weak, just like you, and not one to take abuse."

"I'm glad you got a laugh." Ty said sarcastically and continued to leave.

"Wait!" Lupus cried, Ty stopped but did not turn around, "I had to see how far you could be pushed before going off the edge. Your not as great as your father, but better than others."

Ty was ready to pull out his hair, "You mean that was a test?"

"Yes." Lupus paused, "No. Well…I guess you could call it a test, but not what you are thinking of. You see, I have to make a mental bond with the user so they can access the blades power at will and I need to get an emotional imprint of the user before I can do that."

"Don't you mean your power?" Ty asked.

"Once again, yes and no. You see I am more or less a temporary keeper of the blades power." Lupus replied pleasantly, "Once the user has synchronized with the blade I have little to no power over the blade until it is time to synchronize the next generation."

Ty started to understand but was still upset, "So why did you have to be such a ass?"

Lupus laughed again, "I had to stimulate certain nerves and see what would set you off. For you it seems like contradicting orders, am I right?"

Ty ran his fingers through his long rugged gray hair, "Its not that its just," Ty sighed, "I was pushed around most of my life and now that I can fight for myself I guess I don't like to be pushed around."

"I see." Lupus paused, "Now pick me up." Ty hesitated then pulled the blade out of the ground, "Now that I have the start of an emotional print on you we ca begin training."

Ty looked around the glade, "What am I going to fight?"

In a flash of bluish light a figure that looked human but with no physical features; face, hair, markings. It seemed that the center of it was white and as you got closer to its extremities it was blue. The creature emitted a ghostly glow, "This is a Moon-shadow." Lupus explained, "They can only be summoned by me on a moonlit night. They will try to cause harm to you but the probably won't kill you."

"Probably?" Ty asked uncertain.

"Well will you let them kill you?" Lupus asked.

"Of course not!" Ty barked.

"Then they probably won't kill you." Lupus said humorously. The Moon-shadow moved lazily letting its arms sway when they moved. "Now fight them with all you have." As Lupus finished talking Ty was surrounded by half a dozen of Moon-shadows.

Lan was scribbling on a piece of paper an elaborate crystal design and as he drew his last line he went over his notes and measurements. He the furiously crumpled the drawing and threw it on the floor where a pile had accumulated. Lan scrubbed his faces with his hands, _Why does a dimension matrix have to be so complicated?_ He asked himself. Hector had assigned him to make a dimension matrix last week, now designing one is not hard but the calculations had to be precise. A dimension matrix is used to make a mage's personal space within this reality but nestled between the fabric of reality. The University is within a large dimension matrix that took fifty years to design and another thirty to build the interior. The more complex a matrix the more malleable the space in it is, this was going to be Lan's personal matrix and he wanted it perfect.

Lan took another piece of paper and picked up his quill from the ink jar but accidentally spilled the ink all over the paper. Lan swore under his breath a spell that made the ink glow and accumulate back in the jar, although the paper was ruined. Crumpling up the paper he threw it in the pile. Cracking his neck Lan got up and stretched. Glancing over towards the balcony he noticed that Alexis was there looking up at the sky, the same place she was when he got back from Hector's study and hadn't said a word since. Sighing he walked up next to her and leaned on the balcony railing. Looking up at the sky he broke the silence, "Beautiful night."

Alexis shook her head as if coming out of a trance, "Wha…yeah it is." she sighed.

"Something the matter?" Lan asked looking at Alexis.

Shaking her head Alexis paused, "Well…" she said quietly, "no, its nothing."

"Come on, tell me." Lan pressed.

Alexis shrank back and asked quietly, "Promise not to laugh."

"I promise." Lan agreed.

"Well…" Alexis paused and looked back up at the sky and shrank back, "I want to s…" Alexis trailed off into a quiet mumble.

"Your going to have to talk a little louder." Lan said.

Alexis' face reddened and she shut her eyes then said loudly, "I want to see the stars!"

After a pause Lan smiled, "So that is why you are always looking at them."

Alexis looked down and away from Lan embarrassed, "It's foolish of me to wish something like that."

"No its not." Lan disagreed, "It is a perfectly normal fantasy to walk among the stars."

"If you say so." Alexis said quietly, "But it will never happen, and magic can only let my eyes see so far."

"How far is that?" Lan asked interested.

Alexis pointed to the sky, "That star is blue and is surrounded by five worlds of which three have no moons."

Lan was gapping, "That is very impressive."

"But seeing is not the same as actually being there," Alexis whimpered, "and I want to see what this world looks like, from up there." Alexis gestured with her arms at the sky. She had a smile on her face, but was replaced with sadness.

Lan toyed around with ideas in his head for awhile then gripped the center of his chest once he made a decision, "Do you want to?"

"Yes!" Alexis shouted excitedly then clapped her hands over her mouth.

Lan chuckled, "I never seen you so excided before." Alexis' face reddened. Lan offered his hand and she grabbed it quickly. Lan lead her into the center of their room and reached out his other hand for his staff and said, "Adveho." His staff hovered over from the wall to him. "I'll only take you as far as I am able, so we won't be able to see that star you were talking about. We would be lucky if we can see the sun any closer than now. Understand?"

"Yes, yes." Alexis urged.

Reaching into his pocket Lan pulled out a clear gem and breathed on it. The gem gave off a soft blue glow and Lan let it go, it hovered in between them. "This is our anchor, if things become to overwhelming just let me know and I will bring us back here." Alexis nodded, "Now hand on my staff and don't let go no matter what. Got it?"

Alexis nodded gripping Lan's staff, "Lets go."

"Alright, hold on tight." Lan said with a grin on his face. Arcane syllables flowed off of Lan's tongue and in a flash they were gone.

**Blegh, midterms.**


	36. Chapter 36

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 36: A Plan for War**

His blade cut through the faceless figures with no resistance, it felt like he was fighting an enemy that wasn't real but every time he thought that the creatures would prove him wrong by wounding him. Ty spun around to cleave another Moon-shadow and then staggered as he was struck from behind. "Damn." Ty swore gripping Lupus. His endurance was waning for he had to endure this throughout the night but thankful that he still could stand, if barely. Only three Moon-shadow remained but Ty was in no condition to continue fighting; his right eye was blinded by blood from a nick above his eye, he had several cuts on his arms and back that didn't hurt so much as stung when sweat trickled into them, his worst wound though was his left shoulder which had a gash which stretched from his spine, over the shoulder, and ending at the armpit. "I can't go on." Ty panted.

"Come on now there are only three left." Lupus stated.

Ty couldn't stand on his two feet anymore and dropped to one knee but quickly jammed Lupus into the ground for some support preventing him to go completely to the ground, "That's it, I've reached my limit."

"If you stop now you will die so get up and fight." Lupus ordered.

Trying to get up Ty labored but couldn't produce the strength, "I can't."

Lupus paused, "Then this is the end for you."

Ty gave a morbid chuckle, "I guess so." Ty heard a Moon-shadow charge forward and his own heartbeat.

"Fight." Ty did not recognize the voice, "Fight." It wasn't Lupus, or Cyrus, or Ace, or anyone he knew for that matter, "Fight."

Ty thought in his head, _Fight, why don't I care about that word. I should but it is empty to me, why do I fight?_ Ty closed his eyes seeing the Moon-shadows ready to finish him. _I guess this is the end._

The unknown voice echoed in Ty's head, "Fight to live!"

Ty's eyes shot open and his body acted on its own. Pulling the blade from the ground he ducked under a Moon-shadows arm that was in the shape of a blade and slashed upward. Immediately he spun around slashing the Moon-shadow behind him. Twisting his body Ty narrowly avoided the last Moon-shadow's arm that ended in a point. Ty shifted the blade in his hand so that he was holding the blade end down, he continued to spin and stabbed behind himself into the Moon-shadow's torso.

There Ty held the stance and the unknown voice spoke in his head, "Live."

The burst of strength left Ty's body weaker than before and he collapsed to the ground.

"That was brilliant!" Lupus praised, Ty did not reply but smiled triumphantly with his face in the ground, "You may rest now Tyler, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you so far but we have little time and you must be ready."

Ty wondered what that meant but before he could give it any thought the soothing comfort of sleep enveloped him.

* * *

"It's ok, you can open your eyes now." Lan soothed.

Alexis was deathly scared of what lied beyond her eyelids and rightly so for they were above the planet she knew so well. She gripped Lan's staff as if that was the only thing that mattered, "I'm sacred." Alexis whimpered.

"I can take you back down to the surface if you are uncomfortable." Lan offered.

"No." Alexis protested then let out a calm sigh. "No, I'm fine its just…I don't know what to expect."

Lan paused for a moment, "Doesn't that make it more spectacular."

Alexis hesitated for a moment then opened her eyes and gasped. Before her the world was laid out like a map, the water was a deep blue and the land was rigged and looked like it could fit together with the other land separated by the ocean like puzzle pieces. She could see snow on the mountaintops that lead down into vast plains that lead to more mountains. Clouds streaked the world bellow obscuring the land and sea.

Alexis' knees quaked and she dropped to the ground, but there was no ground beneath her feet and she started to drift towards the surface of the world bellow. Alexis panicked and the felt a hand pull her up.

"Hey, you have to be more careful." Lan warned gently, "You could drift off if you don't hold on."

Alexis gave a weak giggle, "There is no ground."

"No air either." Lan added, "If it weren't for this spell we wouldn't be able to breath." Alexis felt the blood rush away from her face and clang to the staff as if her life depended on it, which it did. Lan stayed quiet then brought an arm around her an hugged her close, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

Alexis felt her face redden, "Promise?"

Lan smiled, "Promise."

It was then that Alexis noticed how much manna Lan was using, "Um…Lan? How much manna are you using."

"Mountains." Lan replied casually.

"Oh." Alexis said quietly, _He is using so much manna and all for this stupid dream. I should tell him I want to go back, he is going to be completely drained at this rate._ Alexis opened her mouth to speak but Lan spoke first.

"If your worried about me using to much manna don't, I loosened the seal so I have more than enough." Lan smiled, "Go on, enjoy the view."

Alexis would have shied away if there was a place to shy away to, but there wasn't. Closing her eyes she drew deep for her manna and spoke, "Os ultra os." She opened her eyes and the sight of the Regnum of Lux Lucis filled her eyes. She saw the city from a birds eye view seeing the entirety of the city. Twitching her eyes to the right she traveled across vast forests and lushes plains and paused at a serene waterfall before flying across an vast ocean to a distant land she has never been to. In a dense forest she saw through a crack in the canopy a strange bird that had feathers as well as scales and had a feather covered membrane that reached from its wrist to its ankles. Alexis moved her eyes to the left to gaze at the other half of the planet when a blackish mass caught her attention.

As Alexis focused in she saw a large army and what appeared to be a tower with four legs and, using the soldiers for scale, the tower was massive. Focusing more she saw shambling corpses and undead horrors and Alexis felt herself shivering.

"Alexis?" Lan asked and Alexis jumped, or she would have if there was ground to jump off of. "Alexis, is something the matter?"

Blinking, Alexis brought her vision back to normal and saw Lan with a concerned look on his face. Shuddering she said, "I saw an army…of the dead." Alexis felt Lan shake.

"Alexis." Lan said with a shiver in his voice, "I need you to try and look through the army and see if you can find a very pale man with black hair."

Alexis hesitated then spoke, "Os ultra os." Scanning the army she found no signs of a man who fit Lan's description until she focused in on the tower, the very thing she was trying to avoid. As she focused in the tower she spotted a pale man with black hair on what appeared to be a balcony and she was about to pull away when the man looked straight at her. Alexis shuddered and he smiled a deathly smile. His lips moved and Alexis could read what they were saying.

"Go and tell your king that I am coming my pretty little mage. Tell him that there is no force that can stop me, not even death. The Lunar Amulet will be mine and my revenge will commence. All who imprisoned me will be destroyed and all that they love." The man threw back his head and laughed, Alexis could almost hear his horrible laughter.

She closed her eyes and tried to get the sound our of her head. "Alexis!" Lan shouted.

She opened her eyes to see Lan's friendly face, "Lan, that man that you described, he was there."

"Nexus!" Lan shouted as if Nexus was a curse.

"There is also one more thing…" Alexis paused, "He has a message for the king.""Then we have to hurry." Lan said and started to lift his staff.

Alexis threw her arms around Lan, "That man, and that army…an army of dead. It was horrible." Alexis started to cry softly. Slowly Alexis felt Lan's arms go over her.

He spoke softly, "Its ok Alexis, I won't let Nexus get his hands on you. I promise. I shouldn't have asked you to look for him in the first place." Alexis drew comfort from those words, never before had she had a guardian that was so nice to her. She felt herself being pulled towards the surface bellow and everything blurred.

* * *

Ace was in the castle's war room and had called the ones that would lead his army there. The sun had not reached its peak and would still be hours until it did. Ace suppressed a yawn and examined the table with a lip curving upward, the bowl the table made had a metallic liquid in it. The table itself was round and about fifteen feet in diameter and about three feet off of the floor. Ace tapped the pool and the liquid rippled then formed an incredibly detailed three dimensional model of the Regnum of Lux Lucis. Ace heard a loud thump and stumbling behind him, turning he saw that Owen had fallen over in his chair and Chad looked like he was about to do the same but regained his balance. Ace couldn't help but smile, "You boys alright?" They nodded and Ace heard chuckling around the table. Turning his gaze to those around the table he reminded himself who was there.

Owen and Chad sat to Ace's immediate left and right wearing the cloths he brought them at the temple. Black pants and shirt with the Order of the Dragon symbol on the chest in gold for Chad and white cloths for Owen with the same symbol. Brad sat next to Chad wearing slightly less casual clothing than he normally wears. He was freshly shaven and wore the sword and belt that he normally wears. To the right of Owen was Ace's advisor, Violet, who wore her plain white robes and held her ivory staff in her right hand. She had her violet hair tied back with a leather cord. Terry stood over the table leaning on the table's lip, she wore a simple dress much like the one she wore in the inn when he first came back to the city. But Ace was no fool, he knew that in the folds of that dress was probably a dozen knives and twice as many needles and somewhere her short sword. Although he couldn't for the life of him figure out where Terry put it. The Captain of the Guards Ronald sat across from Terry, he was fully clad in his guard captains uniform, minus the helmet, and was the most well dressed person at the table. Between Violet and Terry was Spyro who had his front paws on the lip of the table peering over the edge, Spyro found chairs uncomfortable and, quite frankly, looked ridiculous trying to sit in one. On the opposite end of the table from Ace sat his deer old friend, Katar. Katar was recovered from the Labyrinth beneath the city, as was his mate, and they first met this morning. Katar was a fully grown deep red dragon that had a flame pattern on his wing membrane, his horns slightly spiraled backwards, and his bearded scales looked like the spines that went down Katar's back which reminded Ace of flames.

Ace sat back in his chair, "Alright, this is what we've got…" Ace paused recalling the list of soldiers he managed to assemble, "We have about a thousand strong full fledged Order of the Dragon members and about half as many recruits. As well as five thousand soldiers ready to fight as of toady, we would be pressing our luck if we could double that number before Nexus arrives. If I remember correctly there is currently fifteen hundred guards on duty, of which five hundred are on duty at any given time." Ace paused to let Ronald correct him, but seeing as he didn't Ace continued, "Most of our allies are either too far away to aid us in time or are to weak to give us aid at the present." Ace paused taking a breath, "I asked Cyrus to ask if the Pack would help us, even if he manages to get at least a couple dozen that would be more than hopeful. As all of us are aware, peace with the Pack has been uncertain since…since the last king, my father, passed away." There was an eerie pause, "Furthermore, Hector has sent several letters of help to other mages and has yet to hear from them. If we could be a couple battalions of mages that could make all of the difference." Ace thought through his head to see if he had missed anything but nothing came up at the moment, "I believe that is all."

"Can't we ask Warfang for help?" Spyro asked.

"We could, but they are still recovering from the attack last year." Ace replied."

After a long pause Brad spoke, "We can assume that Nexus knows what he is up against otherwise he wouldn't attack. Either that or he has some nasty trick up his sleeve."

"That in mind," Violet interrupted, "we have to take every precaution to protect the city. The people are still restless from Alexander's scandal and downfall, not to mention the Basilisk."

"I could have a shift of guard on constant watch as well as normal sifts." Captain Ronald stated, "If anything we won't be taken by surprise." Terry coughed suppressing a chuckle. "And what is that suppose to mean? We have the best eyes in the guard, nothing gets past them." Ronald demanded.

"Bupkis!" Terry shouted, "Tell me _Captain_, are you aware of the drug ring that is established in the city?"

"I…" Ronald started to say but was cut off.

"Or that there are twenty two criminals in the streets?" Terry pressed.

"We have intelligence that suggests…" Ronald was once again interrupted.

"Of which," Terry continued, "three are crime syndicate leaders, four are arsonists, eight are murderers, five are world infamous thief's, and the last one is none other than Crimson Shadow himself!"

Captain Ronald was gaping, "The Crimson Shadow is in the city?"

Terry sniffed, "Not that you would know. We have been tracking him for months, what has your precious guard done? Stopped petty pick pockets? The Assassins are the real protectors of the city."

"Now listen here!" Ronald exclaimed standing up knocking over his chair.

"Enough!" Ace barked standing, "This is not about who is in the city or petty squabbles between factions."

Ronald protested, "With all do respect…"

"I said enough!" Ace commanded, "It is true that the guard turns in more criminals and keeps the streets safe but the Assassins deal with the big criminals that would draw to much panic from the people."

"Sometimes we are generous and drive the criminals to your guard," Terry added, "to keep the high and mighty guard in good standings among the populous."

Ace nodded, "And you Terry, don't toy him with the Crimson Shadow."

"What do you mean? You know something about him don't you." Ronald accused Ace.

Ace turned on Ronald, "I recommend that you pick up your chair sit now Captain, unless you want your little world torn asunder. If you knew, you would go blind from that what you did not notice before and deaf from the truth." Ace never raised his voice but fury was held within it. Captain Ronald stood with a shocked look on his face before picking up his chair and sitting in it. Terry had a smile of satisfaction on her face and Ace shot her a glance and the expression on her face vanished. "Now then, back on task. The Assassins will watch the perimeter of the city while the guard discreetly spreads the word of war so the citizens will either join the army or at least prepare themselves." Ace paused, "Now Owen and Spyro have seen what we are up against and Chad managed to get a view of the inside of Nexus's army, care to form an image for us?" Ace asked turning to each of them.

Owen had a blank expression on his face and Spyro seemed to be thinking something over. "Well," Chad began, "when I was in Nexus's tower it looked something like this." Chad tapped the liquid in the table and a dimensional figure of a large tower, that looked to made of bone and flesh, next to the city. Tiny figures stood around the tower. "That is all I saw, I don't know how many Nexus had under his control while I was in the tower, but I assume that it has only grown."

"When we saw the tower it had legs." Spyro said. Spyro pricked the metallic liquid with one claw and sent ripples throughout the table. The tower changed and was suspended by four spidery legs, the tower itself didn't increase in size, but everything else downsized, including the Regnum of Lux Lucis, if only slightly.

"Is this to scale?" Ace asked.

"As far as I can tell." Spyro answered, "It was very far away but even then it was huge."

Running his finger through his hair Ace let out a held breath, "That tower isn't huge, it's _massive_!" Brad nearly shouted. Ace turned to him an nodded.

"Are you absolutely sure this is to scale?" Ace turned his head and saw Katar questioning Spyro, his voice still had it's boom.

"Like I said, as far as I can tell." Spyro repeated himself.

Katar closed his eyes and contemplated, Ace smiled, Katar had a plan. As Katar's eyes opened he examined the figures before him, "Alright, this is what we do. The tower is supported by those four legs but Nexus is smart enough to not leave them unprotected so we can guess he has some protection around the tower. This prevents a frontal assault." Katar tapped the pool with a claw and several holes appeared around the table, "We place strategic pitfalls around the battle field, strong enough to hold up a raging battle but not strong enough to hold up a tower." Katar turned towards Spyro, "How did the tower walk?"

"Something like this." Spyro tapped the pool and the tower walked in place lifting one leg at a time.

"When the one of the tower's legs gets stuck in a hole it can't move." Katar explained, tapping the pool Katar set in motion a simulation of his plan and the metallic tower walked forward and got its legs stuck in the pit hole, "After which we can advance on the tower and defeat Nexus." Ace examined the plan over in his head and it seemed like a good enough one.

"But what if the plan doesn't work?" Violet asked with a sly smile on her face.

Ace smiled and so did Katar, "Then I suggest we evacuate the city and run as far and fast as we can." The red dragon chuckled.

Ace nodded, "We need to start on this, Brad I want you to gather any and every earth element dragon you can muster. Katar will start figuring the details with the help of Hector. Terry, start setting up watches around the city. Violet, you will be in charge of the defensive measure around the city and battlefield. Captain Ronald, have your guards spread the word of war coming to the city and urge the people to prepare…and do lighten up." Ace got replies of understanding around the room and a hesitant one from Ronald.

As Ace was about to dismiss everyone there was shouts coming from outside the door, Ace had placed guards at the door to keep away interlopers.

"I'm sorry sir but you can't go in there." A guard was head saying.

"I would very well like to see you try and stop me." A man answered back.

"No you can't!" The guard protested and the doors flew open.

A tall man clad in gold and silver armor, that shamed Ronald's armor, walked in, he had long blonde locks and fierce blue eyes. His face was quite handsome and the man looked like he hadn't shaven in days, if not weeks. The man had a presence of authority, he gazed around the room with a slight sneer. In his right hand he held a crown, to be more specific Ace's crown. The man crossed his arms and demanded, "Who and where the hell is the king?"

* * *

**Next Chapter out (INSERT DATE HERE).**


	37. Chapter 37

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 37: Griffin Guard**

He was running through a thick dark forest and his paws were making a steady rhythm as they hit the forest floor. Stopping in a clearing in the forest he panted catching his breath and sniffed the air with his long muzzle and smelled an unfamiliar, yet, familiar scent. Scanning the edge of the clearing Ty saw a fair wolf that had light brown fur with darker lines down her back. Before she was always with her mate, a large grey and white wolf, but tonight she was alone. Ty look a few steps forward and started to wag his tail. A single word escaped his maw in a bark, "Mom?" The brown she wolf lifted her head and howled and Ty shuddered. As the last note of her howl ended she turned and started to leave the clearing, "Don't go." Ty pleaded. Red eyes appeared around the clearing and closed in on Ty. Panicking he ran after his mother, he could see her in the distance. The eyes were following Ty and gaining but all he was concerned about was the she wolf ahead. Weaving between trees and under brush and foliage Ty kept her in his sight. Something from behind him bit him but that was far from his mind, the trees started to clear and Ty could feel his body shifting into something less of a wolf and more of a man. The shadowy figures that belonged to the fiery eyes clamped onto his body but Ty could not feel it. His body now resembled more human than it once did but his body still had some feral characteristics to it. The forest cleared to reveal the edge of a cliff with his mother running towards it. A cry of something bestial escaped from Ty's mouth as he bolted forward to stop his mother and as he reached her she jumped. Extending an arm to grab her he jumped after her and was mere inches from touching her soft fur but he started to fall. His mother hovered in the air and faded into mist. Ty looked where he was falling and saw a sea of shadows that wanted to tear and break him with their claws and teeth.

Ty shot up with a cry, "Mom!" and the pain in his shoulder knocked him back down.

"Easy boy," Said an elderly woman's voice, "you'll reopen you wounds if you haven't already."

Fighting through tears Ty saw a woman with a wrinkled face and long boney fingers sat next to him. She had grey white hair and tired old grey eyes. Ty sat up slowly this time and winced from his wounds. It was then that Ty first noticed that he was bandaged all over his body; his right fore arm, right calf, left thigh, his entire left arm, almost all of his torso save for his right shoulder, his left arm was also in a sling. Feeling with his free hand Ty felt his face and felt a large bandage on his left cheek and above his brow was a bandaged that felt like a headband. Ty realized that he was in his room, a plain room with a dresser, bed and window on the far side of the room. The old woman was sitting next to his bed on a chair, "How did I get here?" Ty finally asked.

The old woman sniffed, "A few of the stronger lads from around the castle brought you here at my request. You were found in your father's glade and were badly wounded," The old woman sniffed again, "much like your father when he was younger." Ty tried to sit up straighter but only found pain, the bandages on his left shoulder started to turn crimson. "Now look what you've done." The old woman scolded, "Now we have to change them." Ty winced as she removed the bandages from his shoulder.

Once his shoulder was uncovered he saw that around his wound was some sort of design. It looked somewhat like a wave but also like teardrops. Also Ty noticed that the wound was half the size it was last night. "What's that?" Ty asked gesturing to his shoulder.

Never looking up the woman replied, "It will help you heal faster, even for a werewolf." Ty shirked back as he heard venom on the last word, "Don't mind me, I'm just remembering all of the times you father was sent to me barely clinging to his life." She looked up, "And he had that glimmer in his eyes that said this won't kill me, I won't allow it. The same glimmer you have." She looked back down at Ty's shoulder and reached for a brown leather bag.

"Is this magic? Are you a Mage?" Ty asked.

The woman sniffed, "Magic yes, Mage no. I am a Charm Caster. This is but a simple healing charm." She pulled out a brush and a vile. Taking the brush in hand she dipped the it in Ty's wound and earned a sizable yelp from him, "Now I don't want to have to see you in my care again for something this grave again." She dipped the brush then into the vile of liquid and began painting runes around Ty's wound, "Got that?" She pressed hard around the wound and Ty felt agonizing pain.

"Yes, yes!" Ty said though pain, "Nothing this grave."

"Good." The rest of the strokes were gentle and she put the brush and vile back in her bag and began rewrapping Ty's shoulder, "Now that should hold it closed until it heals. I made it extra strong, if your anything like your father you'll get yourself into some kind of scrap before the day is gone." She grabbed her bag and began to walk out of the room.

"Hold on." Ty said, "I never got your name."

The woman paused and looked at Ty, "Well it looks like your not completely without manners." She paused as if remembering what her name was, "You can call me Nana, that is what your father called me when I took care of him so you might as well too."

"Thank you Nana." Ty said awkwardly.

Nana nodded, "You are very welcome." She then continued out of the room and the door closed behind her with a click.

Ty sat back and sighed, _When did dad first came to the castle? It couldn't have been that long ago but yet Nana sounded like she new him for longer than I've been without him._ Ty thought then sighed again. It was then that he realized that he was completely naked under the sheets and his face turned crimson.

* * *

Ace stood up from his chair, this intruder was unknown to him but yet his face looked familiar. "I'm king, who are you and what right do you have to barge in."

The man in the stunning silver and gold armor saluted holding Ace's crown under his left arm, "I am Vladimir Dos' Vallen Captain of the Griffin Guard."

"Lies!" Brad shouted standing up, "The Griffin Guard died over three thousand years ago."

"And that is not the king." Vladimir pointed at Ace.

The world around Ace blurred and he was face to face with the supposed Vladimir Dos' Vallen, "Don't insult me in my home." Vladimir had a startled look on his face, "All of the Griffin Guard died thousands of years ago, their funereal was attended by everyone in the Kingdom. They were the last great heroes the world has ever seen. Don't insult the dead, especially not the Griffin Guard, may they sit forever in the High Court of the Ancestors." After Ace said the prayer he paused, "Get out of my home." He said keeping a cool tone all the while.

Vladimir paused and was a little pale, then a grin cracked on his lips and he started to laugh. Ace was taken aback and couldn't figure out why anyone would be laughing in _Vladimir's_ situation, "Surely you jest your Majesty. I admit my companions and I were gone for a few years, maybe two decades, but not long enough for this story to hold any ground." Vladimir stepped back and held our his right arm, "You proved you are King, I will humor my Majesty and show him I am Vladimir Dos' Vallen, Captain of the Griffin Guard." Ace wondered what Vladimir was doing and then a small object on a golden chain bracelet on Vladimir's gauntlet caught his attention, there appeared to be a small golden figure of a griffin hanging from it. "I have sworn to protect those who are weak and destroy the unjust. I Vladimir of the Griffon Guard invocate Dawn Star." The area in front of Ace seemed to distort as a golden light surrounded the chain around Vladimir's wrist and the tiny gold griffin grew. It was mere seconds before the small golden griffin grew into a large creature with wings and head like an eagle and the tail and hind quarters of a lion. The creature had golden feathers on it's front half with black feather peppered here and there and the fur on it's hind quarters was golden as well, the tip of it's tail was black.

It was then that Ace realized that he had fallen backwards and was staring up at what appeared to be a griffin in startled amazement. _A griffin! A real live griffin!_

Vladimir held out a hand and pulled Ace up and grinned, "You act as if you have never seen a griffin before."

Ace was gaping, "The last griffins died out a thousand years ago."

"Come now your Majesty this joke has gone on long enough." Vladimir said un-amused.

"This is not a joke." Violet said, Ace was a little started that Violet has walked up next to him without him the wiser. "It has been written in all history book and the bards sing tales of the mighty Griffin Guard and their magnificent mounts and then their final battle."

The griffin behind Vladimir seemed to straighten up as if taking pride in these words. "This can't be true." Vladimir said unbelieving.

Ace stepped forward, "Captain Vladimir," Ace paused, "Let me sho…" Ace was cut off by shouts outside the room.

"I have important information for the King."

"I can't let you in there young man." The guard said.

"Do I look like some commoner or fool that would waste the Kings time?"

"I err…"

"Out of our way."

"You can't go in there!" The guard shouted.

The doors flew open and Lan walked through with Alexis behind him. "Ace we have important news…for…you…" Lan paused, "Is that a griffin?" He asked pointing at the golden creature.

"It would appear so." Ace said still unbelieving that it stood in front of him.

Lan shook his head, "As interesting as that is we have some important new for you." Lan stepped aside and let Alexis step forward.

"We have seen the scale of Nexus's army." Alexis said timidly.

"What do you mean?" Vladimir asked, "How did Nexus escape?"

Ace raised an eyebrow, "You know of Nexus?"

"Of course I do." Vladimir said proudly, "I was there when the Griffin Guard and I placed the seal on him in another dimension, along with the help from…some friends." Vladimir paused, "That seal was unbreakable, I have no idea how Nexus broke free."

"Then you can be all the help we need." Katar said, "Come, let us tell you of our plan."

Vladimir walked over to the map table and gazed over the edge, "It looks like I owe Martin an apology, as well as a lot of money."

"Who is Martin and why do you owe him money?" Owen asked.

Vladimir looked up and stared at Owen for a while then shook his head as if degrading a thought, "This idea of liquid metal that forms small figures, it was his design. I never actually thought that it would actually work though."

"You mean Martin of the Griffin Guards is here as well?" Brad asked. Vladimir nodded, "Then how about Tear?"

"Yes he is still with the Griffin Guard." Vladimir replied, "He said that he was going to find someplace to 'polish his skills.'"

Brad pressed, "Do you know where he could be though?"

Vladimir nodded, "He probably went to the training ground, if the castle hadn't changed that terribly much in three thousand years."

Brad clenched his hair, "Not my recruits!" With that Brad ran out of the room almost as if he was being chased by death.

"What got into him?" Spyro asked.

Ace turned to Spyro, "Tear was a great warrior and the stories say that he can be a bit extreme at times."

"Just how _extreme_ are we talking?" Spyro asked.

"Like he charged a fortress on foot by himself just so the rest of the Griffin Guard and I could sneak through the aqueducts to get inside the keep." Vladimir laughed, "When we actually got into the keep Tear was sitting in the keep waiting for us."

"I thought that was just a legend," Roland said, "it sounds to unreal."

"Like I said," Ace began, "the Griffin Guard were the last great heroes of the realm. And Brad has always idolized Tear, so it is only natural that he would want to meet Tear. Although Brad is all to aware of Tear's extreme behavior."

"That is all fine and all but we have more pressing matters." Lan interrupted. "There is an army on the march towards the castle and it is massive."

Alexis tapped the pool of metal and the spider tower moved to the center of the table and tiny figures surrounded the tower, the figures covered the entire table. The tower actually shrunk by about half to make the scale of the army more startling.

Ace shook his head, "This is unreal."

"He also told me to give you a message." Alexis said to Ace, "He said that there is no force that can stop him, not even death. And that the Lunar Amulet will be his and that his revenge will commence. Also all who imprisoned him would be destroyed and all that they love."

"The second coming." Vladimir said.

"What?" Ace asked.

"The second coming." Vladimir repeated, "It was the term he used when we imprisoned him. He said the there will be a second coming and that he would lead it." Vladimir paused, "I never actually thought that I would live to fight his army twice." Vladimir wiped his forehead with the back of his gauntlet, "Alright, You said you have a plan? Well let me hear it."

* * *

After a half a hour of lying in bed Ty decided to try and go walk around the castle. As he sat up his shoulder burned and felt tight but he pushed himself up and swung his legs over the bed and onto the floor. His feet felt something soft and fuzzy and as he looked over the edge he saw a large grey wolf and Ty stumbled back on the bed. The wolf groaned and stretched it's body alongside the bed.

"And I was having such a nice nap." The wolf yawned.

"Where have you been?" Ty asked, "I haven't seen you for…"

"The past couple days?" Boe asked, "I know."

Ty leaned forward out of bed, "Well where were you?"

Boe growled, "I was stuck in Owen's room. The idiot forgot to leave the door open so after the first day I had to jump from balcony to balcony until I found a room with a girl in it and she went screaming out of the room. Lucky for me she left the door open."

Ty laughed, "Well that explained how you got out, but how did you get in my room?"

"I followed you here." Boe began, "I was the one who found you and brought that woman to you who then got others to bring you to your room."

"Oh." Ty paused, " Thank you Boe." Ty got up out of bed and walked over to his dresser.

"Where are you going?" Boe asked, "You are suppose to be resting."

Ty pulled out a pair of undergarments and struggled into them, "I'm not getting any better lying in bed, besides, Nana put a charm on my shoulder so I should be fine."

Boe snorted, "I never liked magic, even before…"

"Before what?" Ty paused pulling his leg though his pants.

Boe shook his head, "Nothing…its nothing."

Ty walked over to his nightstand and belted his dagger so it was resting on his left hip, and put on his coat only putting his right arm through the sleeve and leaving his left in his sling. "Alright, lets go."

"What, don't want to flaunt you wounds?" Boe asked humorously.

Shacking his head Ty replied, "No, I think it would be hard to explain how I got them."

"I suppose it would." Boe said knowingly.

Ty opened the door and walked out into the hallway with Boe following right behind. No sooner than Ty closed the door did he hear his name being called out and he winced. _Oh no, why now?_

"Hey Ty. Where have you been."

Ty tuned around and sighed, "Hey Kim."

Kim gasped when Ty turned around, "What happened? How did you get hurt so much?"

Ty grinned and scratched the back of his head with his free arm, "I fell down the stairs."

"I don't believe you." Kim objected.

"I didn't ask you to believe me but that is the answer that you are getting." Ty replied cheerfully.

Kim was wearing her black tight fitting clothing under baggy grey cloths that hung off of her body and seemed to flow with her. "Well whatever happened you should probably get some rest."

Kim started to guided Ty to the door but he pulled away, "No, I'm fine."

"But you should get some rest." Kim pressed.

"You are not getting me in there." Ty said forcefully, "I may be hurt but it is nothing that I can't put up with."

Kim looked like she was going to protest more but then her ears drooped on her head and she sighed, "Alright brother."

Ty saw that something was bothering Kim other than his injuries, "Hey Kim what's the matter?"

Ears still drooped Kim glanced up at Ty, "It's just that," Kim paused, "I don't know. I thought that we could all be together for once, you know, as a family."

"So that is what it is." Ty nodded, "I want that too but you know as well as I do that dad has an important thing he has to do.""I know," Kim sighed, "but it still would be nice."

Ty put his hand on Kim's head and began to rub it, "What has gotten into you? Constantly with the griping and complaining, you are starting to act more and more like a human."

Kim smacked Ty's hand away, "I am not!"

Ty put his hand back on Kim's head and rubbed harder, "Sure you are. You started to become more and more of a human since we have gotten to the castle; you eat like them, talk like them, and even attended 'one of those silly little dances' isn't that what you use to call them?" Ty mocked.

Kim gave two quick jabs to Ty's stomach, "I don't act like a human!"

Ty staggered back and laughed, "There's my old sister." Ty placed his hand on her head again but didn't rub, "So you say you don't act like a human right?"

"Of course not!" Kim barked.

"Then why have you fallen in love with one?" Ty asked with a grin on his face. Kim's face turned red and Ty laughed, "I though as much." He felt a sharp jab to his gut and staggered back a bit.

Kim flexed her hand, "You don't play fair."

Ty grinned, "It is not like your relationship is a bad thing."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Kim said, "We're just friends." Ty opened his mouth but Kim cut him off, "Don't you say it."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Ty said sarcastically.

Kim growled, "Are you just going to stand there all day? Because if you are you might as well go back into your room."

Ty nodded in agreement, "Your right." Turning on his feet he started to walk down the hallway Boe following behind.

"Where are you going?" Kim called.

"To the training ground." Ty replied and heard footsteps running after him and then Kim grabbed his hand and he stopped. Turning Ty face his sister, "Don't worry, I'm just going to watch."

Kim started to button up Ty's coat, "You just make sure you don't get into a fight."

"I'll be fine, I know that I am in no condition to fight." Ty replied reassuringly. Placing his hand on her head he said, "Now you should go see your _friend_ to make sure he has some company."

Kim punched Ty in the gut again and scolded, "You just be careful." and turned down the hall away from Ty.

"She is a piece of work." Boe said.

"No kidding." Ty agreed and continued to the training ground.

* * *

**I am really starting to hate snow.**


	38. Chapter 38

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 38: The men of the Griffin Guard**

Vladimir analyzed the situation from all angles, Katar's plan was good but Vladimir knew how Nexus fought and lead his army. There was so much that could go wrong with this plan and to many lives would be lost carrying it out. The army itself was just as large as when Vladimir last faced Nexus, maybe larger. He knew that Nexus's army's only priority was to protect the tower. The tower was the most deadly thing Vladimir had ever fought. The tower is a living abomination crated by Nexus through slaughtering thousands and dark magic. If it reached the walls of the city the war would be lost, once the tower reached its destination it would sit down on the ground and release some kind of black mist. The mist was a fate worse than death, your body died but your soul was trapped inside it, an eternal prison even after the body was destroyed. Vladimir already told everyone in the room about this and made it absolutely clear that the tower cannot reach the city.

Wiping the sweat from his brow Vladimir spoke, "The army is just a ploy, the only thing that we need to worry about is destroying the tower."

"So how did you destroy it last time?" King Benjamin asked leaning over the table.

"We didn't." Vladimir began, "We infiltrated the tower and then transported Nexus to another world, one of fire. That was not enough though for he could as easily transport between dimensions as we did. It was at that point that we fought and sealed him in the molten rock. Some time after we closed of all inter-planer travel for all dimensions to reassure that he could never be awaken by an outside force." Vladimir paused, "As a result the tower died, or at least stopped moving. That too we sealed in a hidden location, this might be the very same tower."

Vladimir saw King Benjamin stand up straight and stretch, "We aren't making any progress at the moment. Everyone is dismissed we will continue at the same time tomorrow. Maybe after a day of contemplating the information we have gained we can come up with a better plan." Everyone left but Vladimir stayed behind.

Getting down on one knee Vladimir presented the Kings crown, "Your crown your Majesty." King Benjamin took the crown and looked at it with an absent look on his face before placing it on the liquid metal table, that now had a hard surface, without so much as a word. "Your Majesty?" Vladimir asked.

King Benjamin walked over to the window and braced his arm against it. There was a long pause before he spoke, "How can you still be alive?"

"Pardon your Majesty?" Vladimir asked, it seemed like the King was going to continue with this joke. Oh how the Royal Family liked their pranks. "You still press on with this jest your Majesty?"

"Stop calling me that!" Kin Benjamin snapped.

"I beg your pardon, but how am I suppose to address you besides that of which position you hold?" Vladimir asked.

Turning King Benjamin said, "I am not your King. Your King died three millennia ago, I am not even worthy of the title besides the fact."

Vladimir got up from his knee, "I would beg to differ, you are held high among your subordinates and you seem to have raised two fine young men."

"I abandoned my Kingdom." King Benjamin interrupted, "I ran away with my wife and ended up…getting her killed…" King Benjamin walked over to the table, "I then abandoned my friends and children, and all because of this…this stupid heritage." King Benjamin knocked the crown off of the table and it rolled across the floor.

Scratching his head Vladimir looked over at Dawn Star who was sitting in the corner of the room. Dawn Star nodded his head over to King Benjamin. Vladimir threw up his hand and mouthed, '_What can I say?_' but Dawn Star stomped his foot and glared at Vladimir. With a sigh Vladimir walked over to King Benjamin and clapped a hand on his shoulder, "A coward runs from his fights but it takes a brave man to face what he fears, even if he has to be called a coward to face it. You are not a coward because you came back to your Kingdom. A coward a King does not make but, like I said, you are not a coward. Therefore you are the King this Kingdom needs."

"Words of wisdom from the great Vladimir Dos' Vallen Captain of the Griffin Guard." King Benjamin paused, "Come with me, there is something you have to see."

* * *

Ty made his way to the training ground and saw many of its occupants wounded and bandaged. "What happened to them?" Boe asked.

"I guess that Brad is pushing his trainees more and more, but it looks like he is going to kill them before the war." Ty replied. As he entered the training yard several of the onlookers were whispering but Ty could only pick out only a few words among the chatter such as "fool" and "goner" Ty wondered what that meant. Through the chatter Ty heard the sound of steel through air and quickly ducked back to see a blade pass over him.

"Finally someone who can hopefully put up a fight." Ty turned to see a tall burly man with several scars across his chest and short brown hair. The sword he carried was a good five feet long from the tip of the blade to the pommel. The hit was at an upward tilt and the man carried the blade with ease.

Turning to face the man Ty asked, "Why did you attack me?"

The man rested the two handed sword on his shoulder, "Because none of these louts can put up a good enough fight. Now defend yourself!" The man charged Ty and brought his sword down with one hand.

Reaching into his coat Ty pulled out his dagger and there was a dull blue flash. In his hands Ty held Lupus in it's scimitar form and held it up to block the blade. As the blades locked Ty staggered a bit, "I won't fight you!"

They pushed apart and the man charged for another attack, this time thrusting the blade at Ty. Ty saw this and jumped into the air spinning around and kicked the flat part of the blade with his foot. As Ty landed the man had spun around using the momentum from the kick to hit Ty's sword and knock it out of his hands in an uppercut and managed to cut Ty's coat. Jumping back Ty threw off his coat and landed preparing to fight with one hand. The man was preparing for another attack but stopped mid swing.

Bringing his sword down to his side the man bowed towards Ty, "Forgive me, I did not know that you were injured." The man apologized.

Ty was confused. Who was this man? Why did he attack him? Why was he apologizing now? Ty lowered his stance, "So why did you attack me?"

"I wanted to have someone challenging but all of these other greenhorns can't put up a fight." The man explained, "You at least fended off two of my attacks, and even injured."

"I see." Ty replied, "But who are you?"

The man smiled, "I am Tear of the Griffin Guard."

"Nice to meet you." Ty said awkwardly, "Now please leave me out of your… training." Ty walked over to Lupus and sheathed it.

"Your to stiff and ridged with your blade." Tear said, "When your arm heals come to me and I will show you how to really fight with a sword."

Ty turned to pick up his discarded coat, "I will keep that in mind." Ty walked over to the where he was first heading to, a tree that stood at the far end of the courtyard. He sat down against the tree and cringed, his shoulder had been lucky enough to not be hit but it still pained him.

"That was a good fight, to bad that Tear stopped." Boe said.

"If he didn't I would be worse for wear." Ty replied.

"So are you going to take his offer?" Boe asked.

Ty sighed, "I don't know, I have to think on it."

* * *

As they were walking down Lan felt a strong presence that he had not felt since entering the labyrinth, "Do you feel that?" Lan asked. Alexis nodded, "Feels close."

"Yes." Alexis agreed quietly.

Lan was crossing back and forth from one door to the other while moving down the hall, "I has to be in one of these rooms."

"Yes." Alexis said again.

"You don't have to be quiet all the time Alexis." Lan said darting from room to room, "In fact I wouldn't mind if you stated your opinion once and a while."

There was a pause the Alexis said softly, "Try that door."

Lan saw her pointing three doors down and smiled, "Thank you Alexis." Moving quickly to the door Lan noticed that the door was magically locked, "Interesting." Lan said to himself. Placing both hands on the door Lan uttered, "Patefacio" and the door clicked and opened. Sticking his head through the door Lan saw a man sitting in an armed chair reading a book.

The man had long black hair and a seven o'clock shadow. He was wearing a black coat with blue runes on it and the same for the rest of his outfit; pants, shirt, boots. Without looking up the man said calmly in a slightly deep voice, "It is very rude to barge into someone's room unannounced."

Lan hesitated for a moment, "Quite right, let me try this again." Closing the door Lan placed his hands on the door and uttered, "Obfirmo." Lan waited a couple of seconds then knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" the man asked.

Lan looked at Alexis who had an uncertain look on her face, Lan shrugged his shoulder. "Lan and Alexis of the Blue mages." Lan replied.

"Well don't just stand there, come in." The man said invitingly. The door clicked and opened.

The room was larger than Lan first realized and had torches around the perimeter of the room that emitted a dark blue light. Lan noticed a blue magi circle in the center of the room surrounded by candles with the same dark blue flame. The man sat not far from the door in a corner lined with two bookcases.

"Don't mind Noctus, he usually keeps to himself." The man said waving a hand to the black and blue Griffin lying next to him. Closing his book the man looked up, "Greetings my name is Martin of the Sword Mages."

"I never heard of a Sword Mage before." Alexis said timidly.

Standing up Martin walked over to the center of the magi circle, book in hand, "I would suppose not, according to your times records they vanished some fifteen hundred years ago. Probably holed up in some remote place." Martin sighed, "I told the Order that this would happen if they didn't grab a place in the world like the other Magi Orders. Bunch of hypocritical bastards if you ask me, trading our staff for a sword but promised never to fight. Excuse me a minute." Martin held his book in front of him and let go, the book was now hovering in the air. Martin spoke in the language of magic, although the words were flying off of Martin's tongue so fast Lan couldn't catch what any of it meant. There was a shimmer in the air in front of Martin and blue streaks of lightning cascading around him. The shimmer became solid in a burst of lightning and Martin closed the book and snatched the thing out of the air. As Martin turned to Lan he could see that Martin held a scabbard blade attached to a belt.

The scabbard was all black with the exception of a band dark blue steal that ran down it's length. The hilt was dark blue and black, the guard was turned up towards the blade then made a right angle away from the blade. The guard was decorated in dark blue wire that encircled the black core, upon closer inspection the wire was not attached to the blade but was floating around it. The pommel was in the shape of a dark blue dragons head with lighter blue crystal eyes. Finally there was a large blue crystal in the center of the guard.

Martin held the sword in front of himself with a smile, "Isn't she a beauty?"

"So what was with the spell?" Lan asked.

Martin belted the sword to his hip, "To retrieve my sword of course. It probably got destroyed or taken years ago." Martin chuckled, "In the case of the later I think the one who had it last might not be to happy right now." Placing the book on the nightstand Martin asked, "So why did you come hear in the first place anyways?"

Lan shrugged his shoulders, "Curiosity, we sensed a strong flux in magic and thought we should investigate."

"Speaking of a strong flux in magic," Martin began, walking over to Lan, "you seem to have a strong magical aura." Martin waved his hand through the air, "But is seems to be dampened by something…ah here." Martin touched a finger to Lan's chest where his seal was and Lan felt a chill run up his spine. "I see, a level five manna seal. The seal seems to be intact but then why are you giving off such a strong aura?"

Lan brushed away Martin's hand, "Because if it wasn't there the I would be torn apart, along with everything around me."

Martin did not seem all surprised but he had a questioning look on his face, "Tell me, how long did it take you from the time you first entered the University to your Shaping?"

"Little over a month, why?" Lan asked.

"You can see the flows of magic more easily than others can't you?" Martin questioned, "The small things others miss in a spell or other magic you can see. It is as if you can see what the energy of magic will do before it will happen. Am I right?"

Lan was gaping, a thing he never does, "Yes, it is like I see how the energy of magic flows through the world."

Martin clapped his hand on Lan's shoulder, "My boy you are a once in ten or more life time occurrence, although I have been blessed to see one twice. You my boy have the power of Immanence."

* * *

**Once again sorry for the delay, Finals and all of that**_** fun**_** stuff. Hopefully I will be releasing regularly once classes are done.**


	39. Chapter 39

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 39: The women of the Griffin Guard**

Jasmine was wandering around the library again as she usually does around this time each day. This was all apart of her training but it was getting a little monotonous. Jas could now expand her mind throughout the entire library and sense everyone in it and they where, usually, the same people. Turning around a corner and, as expected, Jas saw Chad sitting in a chair studying his small black book with an aura of darkness around him, why he practiced his powers in the library was beyond her. Taking a few more turns Jas found Violet's usual place, right next to the romantic novels, Violet seemed to have a thing for those kinds of books, just like Jas.

Looking up Jas saw a woman sitting in Violet's chair, she had long auburn hair and amber eyes. The woman was very pretty, she could have passed for a model, she wore very exotic dark purple cloths. She wore a top that was overly embroidered in golden runes and made a **V** cut to show her breasts a little and exposed her navel in the manner of an upside down **V**. The woman had very baggy overly embroidered, in the same gold runes, pants that lead up to cloth like faulds that where split in half and rested on her hips. She also wore the same color of purple slippers and an orange sash that mostly rested on her left faulds. She also had a metallic purple chain bracelet that had a small figure on the chain. She held one of the romantic novels in her hands.

The woman spoke with a voice that complimented her body, "Violet is not here because she has other matters to attend to, yes you will still have your training, I am Miranda of the Griffin Guard, yes of that Griffin Guard, long story but Martin thinks that we are alive because of the Basilisk statue stasis or something like that, yes I am reading your mind, if you want me to stop guard your thoughts, oh your good but you can do better, there we go." Jas was gaping, Miranda had read her thoughts just as the idea was just forming in her head. Miranda closed her book, "Well don't just stand gaping take a seat."

Jas did as instructed and opened her mouth but closed it, _It is hard to ask someone something when the answer is already said_. Jas thought. She felt something touching her mental barrier, a gentle caress so soft she almost overlooked it. With a thought she brushed it away but it was back again soon after, it wasn't unpleasant or uncomfortable but more tickled if one could have their mind tickled.

"Very good," Miranda started, "you seem to have the mental barrier practiced with predictable flaws, small mind you but exploitable. Seems like you built your barrier off an emotional image, effective on its own but always need improvement, but…ah we can worry about that latter. For now why don't you tell me what you know about Psychic philosophy Jasmine?"

"I err…" Jas paused.

Miranda waved her hand and smiled, "Please excuse my rudeness I am terrible with formalities so I just answer initial greeting questions as quickly as possible. As well I took needed information from you; name, motives, who you are. I respect privacy as much as anyone else, don't worry I didn't pry any more from you mind than needed."

"That doesn't make me at all comfortable." Jas retorted.

"Yes I know and I have tried to stop this habit but I do detest formalities, they are so boring and take so long." Miranda said apologetically.

Jas could understand what Miranda meant for she thought the same way, at least the part of knowing who a person is before talking to them. Jas smiled, "Right, I'm afraid I don't know a lot about Psychic philosophy but I do know the general theory. Of how all minds of sentient beings are connected and that even though every sentient things has the potential to become Psychic less than five percent of that sentient life achieves psychokinesis."

"Very good." Miranda complimented, "That is pretty much all that you need to know. Now what if I told you that this connection stretches to other dimensions."

"I would say that I am doubtful." Jas retorted.

Miranda laughed, "Come I will show you." She grabbed Jas's hand.

"Show me what?" Jas asked.

"A very good friend of mine." Miranda smiled. Miranda placed her hands on Jas's temples and Jas gasped, "It's alright, you may begin to feel dizzy."

Jas felt a shiver down her spine, it felt like he mind was being forced out of her body but yet she was still in her own mind.

"You have to let go of your body, push past your mind." Miranda coaxed.

Jas felt like her skull was going to split open, "Stop it." Jas protested.

"You will be fine, I'm right here." Miranda said gently.

"I'm scared." Jas said as she clung to what was her body.

"Don't be, I will be right by your side the whole time." Miranda soothed. Jas felt he mind slip and she was plunged into a world of darkness, she could no longer see or hear what was going on around her. She felt lost and confused, but most of all, scared.

* * *

Holding three needles between the fingers of her fist Kim threw all of them with a stroke of her arm at the stationary target in the likeness of a human. All three needles struck true each hitting a vital pressure point.

"Very good." Terry said behind Kim, "Although the last one enter four degrees to the right, but the target would have only have had a few more seconds of life than if the needle had entered correctly."

Terry had taken it upon herself to personally train Kim herself even though there where several other Assassins in the dojo who could have given Terry a break. Usually Terry and Kim trained alone but today Terry had to train the new Disciples. The dojo was hidden under the streets of the city and several others scattered though out the city. The room where Kim was training in was full of other Assassin Disciples all wearing the tight fitting Assassin wear minus the mask, the disciple is the third rank in the Assassin's order and Kim had progressed quickly at first due to her super-human agility but now has lagged in her advancement. This is mainly because Kim lacked the capability to follow a certain Assassin Oath, of which was the distasteful act of suicide if you are captured. Kim was trying to make up for this "rebellious" behavior by honing her skills.

"Now, try again." Terry said, "If you want to advance you have to convince the Grandmaster Assassin that your skills will compensate for your _attitude _you have to practice harder." Terry, Kim knew, was probably the one who hated her not taking _that_ particular oath more than any one else in the dojo.

"As you say." Kim replied. Reaching for her needle pouch Kim realized that it was missing, as a matter of fact all of her pouches were missing. Franticly she patted herself where the pouches should be, "Where did they go."

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you need these?" Kim was startled when someone swung down from the rafters with her pouches. Instantly every Assassin in the room brought up arms and pointed their blades towards this, now surrounded, intruder. Kim now saw that the intruder was a young woman, though older than Kim, of average height and had brown hair and pale blue eyes. She wore a white short sleeve blouse underneath a tan leather vest that perked her chest up and had straps down the front of the vest instead of buttons. The woman also wore brown pants that fit her snugly that lead down to dark brown knee-high boots. This strange woman who entered that secret dojo of the Assassins also wore worn leather knee-pads, a dark green sash around her waist, a simple belt knife on her left hip, and wore tan leather gloves that reached up half her forearm. The gloves seemed to fit her hands tightly, but the part of the glove that reached up her forearm seemed loose. Kim noticed that the woman wore a metallic pale-brown bracelet with a small figurine attached to the chain. Despite having blades and needles pointed at her, she seemed rather calm and even sported a smile. The woman handed Kim back her pouches, "Here you go, sorry about that." She sounded kind and gentle, too bad she probably wouldn't get out of here alive. Nobody besides Assassins entered the dojo and survived. The woman turned and started to make for the double door large enough for a dragon.

Terry stepped in her way and held a blade the length of someone's forearm up to the woman's neck without touching it. "Not so fast, who do you think you are walking into this sacred ground."

Smiling the woman said, "My name is Kristin pleasure to meet you." Kristin held our her hand for Terry to shake it but Terry held the blade to Kristin's neck with a hard look on her face. Lowering her hand Kristin continued, "I just wanted to see what the old Thieves' Den looked like now, never imagined to find Assassins here."

"Lies, this place has always been a dojo of the Assassin's." Terry barked.

"Oh really?" Kristin said slowly, "There are secret compartments there, there, and there, two secret passageways to safe houses there and there, a trap door there, a weapons barracks behind that wall, and a wine cellar behind that one." Kristin pointed to the places she said while saying them and ended with a satisfied smile on her face.

"I don't know how you know where all of that is but there is no wine cellar…" Terry was about to say more but Kristin walked past her and over to the wall and ran her hand on the wall, there was a click and the wall opened inward to reveal a dark dusty room. Kristin entered the room and came out shortly after with six bottles in her arms.

Handing our the bottles to other Disciples Kristin merrily walked over to Terry and hander her a bottle, "I told you so!" she said triumphantly, taking the bottle in her hand she uncorked it and began to drink from the bottle, "Ah, that is about three thousand years of aging there. Good thing we had that mage place enchantments on the wine racks to keep the wine from losing its flavor, even from over aging. Cheers!" Kristin brought her bottle up to clank it with Terry but her bottle was cut in half.

Terry now held a blade saturated in wine, "I have on time for you games!"

"Now that wasn't very nice." Kristin said looking at the broken bottle in her hand.

"Defend yourself!" Terry lunged at Kristin who deftly dodged and pushed Terry to the side.

"Careful or you will step on the glass!" Kristin warned. Terry attacked Kristin again and this time the Disciples joined, all except Kim who looked on in horror.

_It is like throwing a mouse to a bunch of cats_, Kim thought.

"Psst!" Kim heard next to her, she jumped and saw Kristin next to her, "I'm going to borrow two of your needles if that is ok." Kristin was holing two of Kim's needles, she didn't even feeling Kritin pick them off of her. "Thanks." Kristin walked away from Kim and whistled by putting her thumb and pointer by her mouth, "I'm over her!" Kristin said waving her hand.

Kim heard several people shout confused, "How did she get over there?" "She was just right here?" "She must be using magic!"

Kristin had a shocked look on her face, "Only a little bit, that is the sad part. You lot are so easy to fool." The Assassins charged Kristin leaving several wounded, who had gotten hurt in the fray, behind.

Terry confronted Kim, "Why aren't you helping kill the intruder!"

Kim shirked back, "She isn't hurting anyone.""Hasn't hurt anyone? You look at those Disciples and tell me she didn't hurt anyone." Terry pointed with her blade.

"That was because they were trying to get to Kristin, if they would have just left well enough alone…"

Terry cut Kim off, "Leave well enough alone? She is a threat to the Assassins, she knows where one of our dojo's are who is to say that she doesn't know where more are? She has to be eliminated!"

"Are you two done?" Kim looked to her left to see Kristin and past her all of the Disciples laying on the ground, "I got bored so I thought I would see what you two are talking about."

Terry brought back her blade to thrust it into Kristin, "Die scum!"

Kristin parried the blade with the broken bottle. Terry stabbed repeatedly at Kristin but she parried all of the thrusts with the broken bottle. Terry charged and brought her blade up to strike. Kristin charged forward as Terry brought down her blade and caught Terry's arm and used the momentum to flip Terry over her and pin her to the ground. Kristin pried the blade from Terry's hand, "Your attacks are to angry, you have to try and have a little fun while fighting. Next time think of it as a game." Releasing Terry's hand Kristin walked over to Kim, "Here you hold on to this." she handed Kim Terry's blade.

Terry pushed herself to her feet, "Disciples, this dojo is compromised." All of the Disciples hands went to their belt pouches but they couldn't find what they were looking for.

"Looking for these?" Kristin asked holding up a small brown bag and shook it, it sounded like candy rubbing against candy, but it wasn't candy.

Terry reached for her belt knife and brought it up to her own throat. In a blindingly fast motion Kristin reached for her belt and threw something at Terry. Two needles pierced Terry's shoulders and her arms fell limp preventing her from completing the deed.

Kristin walked over to Terry and got really serious, "You want to know why I came down here?" Terry didn't reply but stared blankly at her arms that now lie motionless in her lap, "I came here to make a point, I don't like Assassins for one reason only, they will take their lives over the stupidest things." Terry looked up, "I know every location of your 'dojo's' are, most of which where part of the underground network of thieves until they where taken. Have you ever wondered why most of your 'dojo's' is under an inn, tavern, or shop?" The double doors opened and several people started to walk in and donned some variation or another of Kristin's attire. Kristin addressed everyone in the room, "I am Kristina Hawklight of the Griffin Guard and I am taking back what the Assassins' stole from the thieves. I leave you all with a message. Tell your higher-ups that they can return what they stole, or we will do what we do best, steal it back. Now get out of our Den."

Terry got up with her arms still limp, "You haven't won, this is just one of many dojo's, even if you have managed to take this one you will never be able to take the rest, much less hold this one for vary long." Addressing the Disciples Terry said, "Those of you that can walk help those who can't, we will take the back passage." As dignified as wounded and defeated Assassins could they all exited with Kim bringing up the rear.

As Kim was about to slip though the passageway Kristina caught her hand, "You are going back to the Assassin's?"

Kim nodded, "It's my place." After Kim said that she started wondering if it was really her place.

"Please stay here, you don't belong with that lot." Kristina pleaded, "You can stay here with where you should be." The people; all men and women, humans and elves, and even a few dragons, nodded in agreement with Kristina's words.

Pulling her hand away Kim asked, "And how to you know where I belong?"

"I don't, but you didn't reach for your suicide pill when Terry gave the order." Kristina answered.

"It's not like you didn't take it…" Kim reached in her pouch and to her surprise her pill was still there.

Kristina grabbed Kim's hands, "Because I knew you wouldn't use it."

"Kim!" was echoed down the passageway, who was obviously Terry's voice.

Kim started to turn but Kristina stopped her, "I know you have to go, but please give it some thought later, you really don't belong with them. Before you go though I have something to give you." Kristina took off her ring that she wore on her right hand, it was a unique ring. It appeared to be elven made for it bore their design, the ring had golden leaves etched in extreme detail and colored green between the leaves and etching. "This was given to be by the Queen of the Elves as a symbol of friendship, I now give it to you for the same reason. If you change your mind, you know where to find us." Kristina said with a smile.

Kim paused second guessing herself but heard footsteps from down the passageway and darted through the passageway and tucked the ring in her own secret pouch that she added to her suit. To Kim's shock she met Terry running towards her, arms limp, "What kept you so long? Did those bloody thieves harm you?"

"No." Kim said shakily.

"Ah, mores the pity, for if they have I would have went back now and torn them apart." Terry said fiercely, "Come we must go report this, those thieves leave use to a worst fate by leaving use alive." Terry turned and ran back the way she came and Kim followed, if a bit reluctant.

* * *

**Would have gotten this chapter out much sooner but guess who severely sprained his wrist? Yeah, this guy. Anyways I get the brace off in about a week or two. I might be able to get another chapter out before then but I'm not making promises. **

**Also for those of you who don't know what faulds are they are pieces of plate armor worn below the breastplate to protect the waist and hips. They are made of metal bands that surrounding both legs, potentially surrounding the entire hips in the form similar to a skirt.**


	40. Chapter 40

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

**Chapter 40: Powers Beyond Imagining**

* * *

Scratching his head Lan eyed Martin, "What exactly is this 'Immanence'?"

"It will take some time to explain fully. Please, sit." Martin gestured to the chairs in the corer library. Lan looked back at Alexis who shrugged and followed Lan to the two chairs similar to Martin's cushioned high-backed arm-chairs and leaned their staves near the fireplace. Martin sat across from them and ran his fingers though his hair and exhaled, "Where to begin?" He asked himself, "Well for starters you have the powers equivalent to, dare I say, a god."

"Your kidding!" Alexis blurted out. Lan glanced over to her shocked by her loud outburst, not for the outburst itself but for the fact that she nearly yelled. Alexis shrank back into her chair after she spoke louder than a whisper.

Martin smiled, "No, I am not kidding. Lan here has the power strong enough to shape the universe…or destroy it." there was an eerie pause. The griffin, Noctus, yawned and curled up much like a cat as it's breath evened into sleep. "However, as Lan well knows, this power is to intense for a mortal to wield. Usually when one is born with the power of Immanence they have equivalent powers of a weak mage with occasional burst of very strong magic before their Shaping. It is not unusual for the gifted to posses this kind of magic before their Shaping but it is a strong indication of Immanence." Martin paused and took a sip from the glass of water on the table next to him and held the glass in his hands. Martin mumbled something and droplet of water the size of a marble rose out of the glass and hovered in Martin's open hand, "Now when a normal gifted goes though the Shaping their magic power is increased in a quick burst, usually right as they take their new from. Their power then stabilizes to a safe level." There was a small blue flash in the marble of water and it bulged outward then clasped back to its original size. "Now with those who are gifted with Immanence it is a different story. When they go through the Shaping their magic power increases to a near infinite amount, much more than a mortal body should ever endure." There was a blue flash again in the marble of water but this time the flash grew inside the marble and the water kept expanding and grew to the size of Martin's fist before the marble burst splattering water everywhere and the light vanished, "Consequently the body starts to break down and destroy itself under the intensity, along with the surrounding area. Your lucky if the area destroyed is the size of a city." Martin took another sip of water, "Now there are ways to prevent this. The first being not to go through the Shaping, although that one is a self evident. The second is a slim chance, it is when one gifted with Immanence burns out their magic power before destroying themselves. The third is banishing the one with Immanence to another realm, this isn't a prevention but more of a solution of saving a highly populated area. The forth is a seal, as I understand there is a Grandmaster Magi Circle in the University where you had your Shaping. You were probably taken there specifically because you were under the suspicion of having Immanence."

"I thought all mages had their shaping in the Ritual Room?" Lan asked.

"No." Alexis said quietly, "Shaping's are usually held in the University Square, most often several at once."

"Indeed." Martin said studying his interlaced fingers, "Although, as I understand, you almost broke the Grandmaster Magi Circle." Glancing up Martin started to study Lan.

"Yeah, that is what I've been told." Lan said scratching the back of his head with a forced smile. There was a pause and Lan's smile faded as he rummaged through the information that he just learned, "I know that I have a lot of magical power, I have always known since I came to Lux Lucis, but there is one thing that irks me."

"And what is that?" Martin asked intrigued.

Lan turned to his staff and said, "Adveho." The staff hovered over to Lan and he handed it to Martin, "Take a look." Martin inspected Lan's staff, "You can see the overlaying enchantment, a strong suppressing enchantment that greatly suppresses my magic when I hold it. It has a limit that I can't go beyond when I have it in my possession. And another thing," Lan began and Martin looked up at him, "that particular enchantment only works on me, nobody else."

"Strange." Martin agreed. Inspecting Lan's staff closer he said, "Now it seems that the original magical enhancement enchantment is still underneath the suppressing one but the suppressing one is more powerful, overriding the enhancement one."

"I know." Lan insisted, "But the suppressing enchantment is degrading, slowly mind you, but eventually it will disappear and when it does I fear what will happen."

"As long as your seal holds there should be nothing to worry about." Martin retorted. Handing Lan his staff back with a slightly disturbed look on his face, "I think someone has their eye on you." Martin said looking upward.

"You don't mean?" Lan asked.

Martin shrugged, "It is a possibility. Now on to the matter of your 'class'."

"What do you mean?" Lan asked seeing the change in subject, he decided to let it go.

"I could, if you wanted, both of you," Martin addressed both Lan and Alexis, "perform the ritual to raise you above just mage."

"What are you talking about?" Alexis asked.

Martin scratched his head, "Most of the mages now are the Familiar class. I am a Sword mage, although this is not nearly all of the possibilities. There is so much more that has been lost to the University. Here let me make you a copy." Martin pulled out his book and muttered a few words and pulled out a small paperback book from its pages. Oddly enough none of Martins pages were removed, they just seemed to stretch and separate creating the small book, "In here are most of the mage classes that I have come across in my days, although there are many more than this, it is the best I can do."

"I err…" Lan began but stopped.

"I can understand if you are a little uneasy about lost magic but I can assure you that they are perfectly safe." Martin assured.

Reaching out for the book Alexis grabbed it and smiled, "Thank you very much Mr. Martin."Martin blinked and laughed, "Please, Martin will do Alexis."

Alexis shrank back and as her cheeks redden. Lan cracked a smile, "Thanks for all of this information Martin, it sure gave me something…to thinks about."

"Any time Lan." Martin said standing up and escorted Lan and Alexis to the door, "Remember you are always welcome in my halls."

As they all said their farewells Lan walked Alexis back to their room, Alexis was already rummaging through the small book Martin gave them.

* * *

"Don't be afraid," A voice said in Jas's mind, "we are almost there." It was Miranda. As Jas floated in nothingness she began to doubt those words until her world of darkness was replaced with white. The shock of transition from black to white blinded Jas, she covered her eyes. Jas realized that she now had all of her senses back; she could see her hands, feel the floor beneath her, breath the air…and hear laughing? An arm came around Jas that helped her to her feet, "I got you darling, it's ok, we're here."

"Where exactly is here?" Jas asked looking around and saw that she was standing in what appeared to be an office but all of it's furnishings were white; floor, walls, chairs, bookshelves, desk, etc.

Behind the desk was a man, or what looked like a man from his build, clothed in all black covering all of his skin except for the lower half of his face, the upper half was shrouded by a black cowl. The man was the one who was laughing, "Welcome Miranda, it has been awhile hasn't it?"

"It certainly has, about three thousand years." Miranda replied, "But what is a couple millennia to _you_?"

The man laughed, "Indeed."

"Excuse me." Jas spoke up, "I'm afraid that I am a bit lost here."

"Ah, I suppose you would be Jasmine." The man said with a smile.

"How do you know my name?" Jas questioned.

"It is my place to know everyone, everywhere." The man replied.

Miranda whispered in Jas's ear, "This man is one of the six immortals that make sure utter catastrophes are prevented."

The man stood and gave a deep waving bow, "The Keeper of Fate at your service Miss Jasmine Sayge."

"The Keeper of Fate?" Jas asked bewildered.

"Yes, Keeper or Fate will do fine. I realize addressing me as 'The Keeper of Fate' each time can be quite a mouthful." Fate smiled and turned back to Miranda, "I see you are teaching Jasmine here to Plane Shift."

Miranda nodded, "Yes, thought I would start in a friendly plane first. I would have taken Jas to her realm first but you know those boldly séances and exorcist. As soon as the people of her realm would see us they would be screaming ghosts, or worse, demon. Not to say that they don't exist in her realm but you know how mental projection works."

"You have been to Earth before?" Jas asked.

Miranda nodded, "Of course, what do you think I did for three thousand years? Stand as a stature? I'd rather not thank you."

"I guess you came here specifically to train Jasmine though didn't you?" Fate asked.

"Yes I did," Miranda gestured to the wall, "If you would be so kind?"

Fate nodded, "I will make a door for you." he snapped his fingers.

Jas looked where Miranda was pointing and a door appeared out of nothing. "How did you?" Jas asked.

"In short," Fate said, "my realm, my rules."

"Come with me Jas." Miranda said walking though the door.

Jas started to follow but when she turned to the door she instead found herself in front of Fate's desk, "Please sit." Fate said. Jas didn't remember sitting down but she was in fact sitting in a high back chair.

Wide eyed, Jas stared at Fate and started to ask, "How did you…right, _Your_ realm _your _rules."

Fate smiled, "Now you get it." Before Jas could speak Fate continued, "I haven't had the pleasure of talking to you as I had with Owen."

"Owen knows about you?" Jas more demanded than asked, "Why hasn't he told me or any of his friends for that matter?"

Fate sat with his hands on the table, "I told him not to and he abided by that. But more to the important matters, Owen is going to fight one of the most important battle in his life very soon and you are in more danger than he is."

"What do you mean?" Jas asked confused.

"Time…time is in constant motion and cannot be stopped but can be rewritten. Certain events always happen, never happen, must happen, must never happen, could happen, should happen, couldn't happen, shouldn't happen." Fate began to explain, "This battle that Owen will face will always happen throughout time, it cannot be avoided by any means. No matter what is changed in the past Owen always fights this battle, however certain events can be changed to sway the odds of the battle. I have made it my personal interest to have Owen win but I cannot directly influence any realm outside my own. Certain events have happen so that Owen dieing is very slim." Fate paused to collect his thoughts, "You on the other hand Miss Sayge are a variable."

"A variable?" Jas parroted.

"Indeed." Fate replied, "Lets just say for instance that if Owen where to survive and you die and he might be driven to become a cold vengeful tyrant."

Jas grabbed her throat, "I'm going to die?"

Fate realizing what he said tried to ease Jas's mind, "No no no! Well…that is at least what I am trying to prevent." Jas was going to say something but Fate interrupted her, "Jasmine…you have to understand that everyone everywhere has the chance of dying at any time, even me." Fate added and sighed, "Listen, I am trying to sway your fate away from death but it is much harder when dealing with variables."

"Why? What is so difficult about variables?" Jas asked trying to take her mind off of her death.

Fate scratched his chin and there was a long silence, "The best way I can describe a variable is…" Fate sighed, "Let me first say that I, along with my five other 'associates', have the power to see all of the possible outcome of a persons life in an instant. Now let me say that a variable is a much more…complex person than one who isn't. People are only variables at certain time though, but a person who isn't may have thousands of possible outcomes in an event while a variable has billions."

"Is that all?" Jas asked casually.

"What do you mean 'is that all?'!" Fate said exasperated, "Do you have any idea the consequences if you die and Owen lives! Let me give you an example; in about half of the billions of outcomes where you die Owen becomes either; insane, psychotic, vengeful, demonic, evil, a tyrant, a dictator, possessed, or any and all combinations of the above! And those are the favorable outcomes! In the other half where you live but are severely maimed Owen becomes; weak, scared, self blaming, paranoid, forgoes his power, isolated, or any of dozens of other things I cannot begin to describe! And in that sliver of a chance compared to all of the negative outcome and you live, so small in fact that I had almost overlooked them in the ocean of your demise, Owen will be sane enough to face the next thing that the world throws at him!" Fate was now standing leaning over his desk and panting. Collecting himself Fate sat back down, "Now do you see why you are so important, you have to live."

Jas stood up, "Thank you for enlightening me to my inevitable end but this doesn't help me in the slightest." Jas turned towards the door, "All you have done is tell me not to die or get maimed when is it apparent that it is so hard to. I'm going by Miranda now, talk to me again when you know how I can live." Jas started at Fate sitting in his chair across the room and then walked to the door. She felt a hand grab hers, she turned to see Fate standing behind her grasping her hand as if afraid to let her go, the lower half of his face showed it.

"You want advice fine." Fate said with a level and slightly cold voice, "When given the chance to run or hide, run. Run with every ounce of strength you got." Fate let go of Jas's hand and walked back to his desk with his back towards Jas and leaned over it with his head down and hands supporting him, "It won't make sense now, I know, but you will know when the time is right." Fate said without looking at her.

Jas paused then walked out of the door to find herself in a completely barren and white landscape and Miranda to great her, "About time you showed up, had a friendly chat with Fate I take it?"

"Yeah." Jas said weakly.

"What is the matter Jas?" Miranda asked putting her hand to Jas's forehead, "Was it something Fate said?"

Jas nodded, "He said…"

Miranda put a finger to Jas's lip, "Shh. What he said to you was meant only for your ears, nobody else. If he upset you please forgive him, he has lived for eons and sometime forgets himself. He bears a great burden, don't pity him or feel sorry, just tell him thank you next time you see him. He really does try and help, it is just that it might not seem like it at first." Jas tried to find comfort in Miranda's words but was to distracted by what Fate had told her, "Come on, lets go home." Miranda grabbed Jas's hand and Jas was thrown into the world of darkness.

There was one thing that Fate had said that bothered Jas more than her own death, it was Owen turning into a madman. That was one thought that had never crossed Jas's mind, and she never wanted it to again.

* * *

**I have both my hands back now so I won't have to chicken peck at the keyboard like I did for over half of this chapter anymore. I would say that I would start releasing chapters regularly, but the last time I said that I sprained my wrist. So if nothing comes up they should be coming out regularly, but no promises.**


	41. Chapter 41

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 41: Blade Song**

The sun had started its decent as Ace led Vladimir through the castle to the only place that could convince Vladimir that he was in the future. Stopping outside the iron gate Ace paused, _Is this right for me to do?_ sighing Ace turned to Vladimir who seemed to be caught up in the view of the castle. "Captain, what I'm about to show you might disturbed you, but it is the only way to convince you.""Convince me of what?" Vladimir asked, "Oh yes, your little joke. I know that the rest of the Griffin Guard has fallen for your joke but not I."

Ace felt sorry for Vladimir, _Is he so against accepting the truth? Or does he know that this is not a joke and is trying to convince himself that it is?_ Ace shook his head, "Then follow me." Vladimir seemed to hesitate as Ace pushed open the double iron gate and walked into the cemetery. Many headstones and mausoleums filled the cemetery and at the heart of it was Ace's destination. Walking into a circular clearing stood five statues on stone pedestals with their backs facing each other and encircling a statue of five rearing griffins with their backs fused together and wings upward. Ace lead Vladimir around the monument so he could see who the statues where, each statue had a plaque.

The first plaque read; _This statue is erected in honor of Kristina Hawklight, Grandmaster Thief and Griffin Guard, by the Thieves Guild. May she find her seat in the High Council of the Ancestors._

The second plaque read; _This statue is erected in honor of Martin of the Sword mages, Adept Sword mage and Griffin Guard, by the Order of the Sword. May he find his seat in the High Council of the Ancestors._

The third plaque read;_ This statue is erected in honor of Miranda Al'Mere, Master of the Mind and Griffin Guards, by the College of the Mind. May she find her seat in the High Council of the Ancestors._

The fourth plaque read; _This statue is erected in honor of Tear, Sword Master of the North and Griffin Guard, by the Tooth and Claw Tribe. May he find his seat in the High Council of the Ancestors._

As Ace lead Vladimir to his statue, Vladimir paused but followed Ace and knelt down in front of the statue. The fifth plaque read; _This statue is erected in honor of Vladimir Dos' Vallen, Paladin and captain of the Griffin Guard, by his loving family and the Paladin order of His Majesty. May he find his seat in the High Council of the ancestors._

"They're gone." Vladimir whimpered, "They're all gone."

Ace walked to Vladimir's side, "Do you see now?"

Vladimir nodded and there was an awkward silence. The silence was broken, however, by Vladimir's laughter, "I told my son that I would be back, I told him that I would be back in time for his birthday. I told him that it was just one more monster to slay, just one more…" Vladimir trailed off, muttering tom himself.

Taking a step Ace paused and decided that it was best for this old hero to heal his own wounds. Feeling ashamed Ace walked out of the cemetery to heal his own wounds.

* * *

The sun had already set and Ty was in his father's glade, holding Lupus in his right hand. "Come on!" Ty was trying to turn the dagger into a blade but to no result. "At least talk to me!"

"Having troubles?" Boe asked, who had followed Ty and insisted on staying.

Ty glared at Boe who had a wolfish grin on his face, "You could say that." Ty said shortly. Tired of his futile effort Ty threw the dagger in rage at the nearest tree. As if to mock him, Lupus turned into a sword and imbedded itself in the tree. Too irritated to retrieve his blade Ty sat down and sighed, "I give up."

"Having troubles?" Ty glared at Boe again but realized only afterwards that it wasn't Boe. Looking around the glade Ty saw Tear emerge from behind a tree, the same tree that had Lupus stuck in it. "Nearly took my head clean off."

"Sorry, I didn't know you were there." Ty said apologetically.

Tear walked over to Ty, he was carrying some sort of box. Sitting down next to Ty, Tear placed the box between them. "So, you having troubles with your blade?"

"You could say that." Ty growled.

"Ah, don't get all worked up over a sword pup. I'm sure it'll warm up to you eventually." Tear encouraged.

Turning his head Ty didn't quite understand what Tear meant, "What do you mean."

"Every weapon has a soul pup, you might have heard the saying a weapon chooses it's partner, well that saying is absolutely true." Tear unsheathed his blade and for the most part it was a plane blade, besides the fact that it was a good five feet long. "This is Maria, she was a but finicky when I first met her but she warmed up to me."

"The blades name is Maria? Is it sentient?" Ty asked.

"Yes." Tear answered immediately then said, "Well no. It's like…here." Tear handed Maria to Ty who rested her across his lap holding the hilt in his right hand, "Do you feel the power in her?"

Ty paused and stroked the blade waiting for something to happen, but after a few minutes of nothing happening he said, "No, nothing."

"Listen." Tear insisted.

Ty listened to the point of straining his ears and couldn't hear anything, "Sorry, nothing." His ears twitched in annoyance.

"No. Not with these," Tear said and flicked one of Ty's wolf like ears on top of his head. Tear made a fist and placed in in the center of Ty's chest, "Listen with this."

Ty started at Tear for a moment doubting him, but after a encouraging gesture from Tear Ty closed his eyes. Trying not to listen with so much his ears this time but instead waiting for some sort of…feeling. A few minutes passed but all Ty could hear was the crickets. Ty opened his eyes and was bout to speak when he heard a faint, "Hello." it was faint but it was their and sounded like a woman.

Eyes opening wider Ty turned to Tear, "I heard it, I mean her."

"See, all you have to do is listen and you will do fine." Tear took Maria back from Ty but not before Ty heard a faint, "It has been a pleasure to meet you." Tear glanced over to Lupus who was still stuck in the tree, "Does your blade have a name?" Tear asked.

Ty nodded, "Lupus, it belonged to my father and his father and so on, it is sort of a inheritance."

Tear stood up, "I see, so it is an old blade then?"

"I guess, as old as my family at least." Ty replied.

Walking over to Lupus Tear sheathed Maria and placed his hand on Lupus's hilt and pulled his hand away as soon as it touched his skin. Tear waved his hand as if it had just been burned, "Damn thing bit me." Tear said calmly. "Hey pup come here and calm your blade." called Tear.

Getting up Ty walked over to Lupus and grabbed his hilt and yanked him out of the tree, "You threw me! Why did you throw me?"

"Well if you would have just talked to me I might not have." Ty retorted.

"Wait, I'm not done. On top of you throwing me, you let a human touch me." Lupus complained.

Ty growled, "What, are you to stuck up of a sword to let anyone else wield you?"

"That is besides the point." Lupus rebutted, "Because that human touched me he has disrupted our synchronization by a notable amount."

Tear started laughing, "I agree Maria, they do fit each other perfectly."

"Oh yeah, speaking of which, who the hell is this human!" Lupus demanded.

Tear bowed, "Tear of the Griffin Guard."

"Oh, Griffin Guard. I remember you lot, had quite a reputation in your short lived heroics." Lupus snapped.

Ignoring Lupus Ty asked, "You can hear Lupus?"

"Of course, he is practically yelling." Tear laughed, "Well, we might as well start training."

"Yes we should, without you." Lupus directed at Tear.

Tear walked over to his box and opened the lid, "Yes with me, you might have noticed when Maria struck you how weak the pup's form was." Tear glanced up, "I take it you were the one who put him in his current condition."

"So what do you purpose?" Ty asked.

Tear pulled a bottle out of his box and walked over to Ty, "Take a sip of this. We will alternate, Lupus will do one round of his training and I will have one round of mine."

Ty sniffed the mouth of the bottle and his nose wrinkled from the foul smell, "What is this stuff?"

"Lets just call it medicine, just take a sip of it to start off." Tear replied.

Ty found it a bit difficult to take just a sip of the red liquid because the concoction in the bottle was the thickness of syrup. Gagging down the fluid Ty's body convulsed, he began to feel frightened. After the convulsions ended Ty felt rejuvenated and his body no longer felt any pain, unbandageing his arm Ty saw that his wound had vanished but the healing charm remained. "What was that stuff that you gave me?"

Tear paused, "Medicine, like I said, really _good_ medicine. Should have warned you about the shakes but they go away quickly."

Ty coughed and red liquid covered his hand, Ty panicked thinking it was blood, but it smelt foul like the medicine, "Anything else I should know?"

Scratching his head Tear said, "Bless you."

"What do you mean?" Ty asked then sneezed and his nose was filled with the smell of the medicine, "Thanks."

"Your welcome." Tear replied, "Now why don't you and Lupus do what you usually do and then I will teach you how to wield a blade afterwards.'

Ty rubbed his nose and asked, "Why don't you tech me first?"

"I need to see what you already know. Besides, Lupus would get jealous if he didn't have his turn first." Tear answered.

Walking to a clearing Ty grabbed Lupus with both hands, "I'm ready."

"I can't believe you are going along with this." Lupus said angrily.

"I would like to have all of my appendages when I'm older thanks. Besides I nearly died last time." Ty replied forcefully.

Lupus paused then a single Moon-shadow appeared in a beam of light, it was slightly more detailed than the others. This one, for instance, had a face and cloths that merged with it's body. It also held a blade that had the same bluish tint it's body and cloths had. "Show him what you got." Lupus said.

Ty readied himself and circled around the Moon-shadow, it did not move. After making a full circle around the Moon-shadow Ty wondered why it hadn't attacked him like the others. Bringing his sword down to his side Ty charged and was about to strike when his sword was deflected by the Moon-shadow and Ty was kicked in gut. Ty dropped to the ground but rolled to the side to avoid the oncoming blade. Oddly enough, the blade seemed like it would have missed Ty regardless. Thrusting Lupus at the Moon-shadow Ty was sure he had exploited and opening, but the Moon-shadow dodged and grabbed the back of Ty's head and drove him into the ground.

Ty heard a single word from a man, though it was not Tear. The word echoed with a metallic ring, "Dead." Turning his head as much as he could he saw the Moon-shadow glaring down at Ty. It removed it's hand from Ty and walked away from Ty to put space between them.

Ty assaulted the Moon-shadow three times, all of them leading to Ty's defeat. After each defeat the Moon-shadow would say, "Dead" in it's echoing voice and give a harder glare.

Wiping the blood from his mouth Ty was battered and bruised. Preparing to attack again Ty was caught off guard when the Moon-shadow charged. Ty brought up Lupus in time to block the blade but Lupus was thrown from his grip. The moon-shadow's gaze met Ty's with a sneer, it brought down it's blade with the intention of dealing damage this time. Ty dodged the blade, not encumbered by Lupus Ty could now move easier. Taken off guard the Moon-shadow was open for an attack, delivering a few quick blows to the Moon-shadows side Ty felt his knuckles sting a little. Ignoring it, Ty sidestepped out of the blades uppercut arc and high kicked the Moon-shadows sword hand knocking out the sword. Ty's barefoot now stung as if bit by a hornet. The Moon-shadow has a shocked look on it's face as it's sword landed not that far away from Lupus. Not letting up Ty spun on his foot and kicked the Moon-shadow in the face sending it to the ground.

Panting Ty wondered if he had won this round or not. To his dismay the Moon-shadow sat up but it didn't seem angry, to the contrary, it was laughing.

Ty heard clapping behind him, "Well done Ty." Tear said, "Looks like you do know how to fight."

"With my fists and feet yes, but not with a blade." Ty panted, "It feels awkward. Ah!" Ty dropped to the ground because his hands and feet felt like they were on fire.

"Hold on I'll get something for that." Tear said. He returned shortly from his box with; a bottle, some cotton, and bandages. After soaking the cotton with the bottles liquid Tear treated Ty's burns then wrapped them. Now Ty's hands were wrapped from his forearm to his second knuckles and his feet from his calf to his toes. "That ought to feel better soon. Now let me show you a thing or two about a blade."

* * *

Taking her stroll through the royal garden Cynder found that she had stayed longer than she intended, the sun had set some time ago but at least the moons were out giving the garden a grayish hue. The topiaries and statues seemed to be glaring down at Cynder with the way the shadows cast on their faces. With a sigh Cynder decided it was time to leave and made her way towards the garden's exit. To her surprise, as she made her way though the last archway, Cynder saw Spyro sitting with his back towards her staring up at the moons. With a sly grin on her face Cynder stepped into the shadows and made her way silently up to Spyro. As she got closer Cynder noticed that there was something off about Spyro but didn't give it any mind. Leaping from the shadows Cynder tackled Spyro pinning him to the ground, "Gotcha!" Cynder laughed.

After a few flustered sputters Spyro said, "Get off of me!"

Spyro's voice didn't sound exactly right, it sounded a bit…off. "Spyro?" Cynder questioned.

"Who the hell is Spyro? I'm Flame." the dragon grumbled.

Realizing her mistake Cynder's face flushed and she quickly got off of Flame. The dragon shook himself and turned to face Cynder. Now that Cynder got a better look at Flame she picked out some subtle differences between Flame and Spyro in the grey twilight. For instance; Flame's horns were not as curled as Spyro's but straighter, Flame's muzzle was rounded instead of Spyro's more square nose, also Flame had a bit of a rough fringe of scales that gave him a more ragged look. Cynder bowed her head in embarrassment, "I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"Not a problem." Flame said flexing the pain out of his shoulders. Looking over Cynder Flame grinned to himself, "Although I tend to have that effect on people."

"Well I guess I should go, sorry again." Cynder apologized.

As Cynder made her way to move out of the garden Flame stopped her, "Where's the rush? We just barely met."

Taken by surprise Cynder took a few steps back, "I have to go meet someone, and I'm a little late."

"Come on." Flame protested, "A couple of minutes won't hurt you."

"No, I really need to go." Cynder said firmly.

Flame paced around Cynder, "Well if you need to go how about you give me something to remember you by?"

"Like what?" Cynder said with a bit of disgust in her voice.

Flame shrugged, "I don't know," he said slyly, "how about you surprise me?" closing his eyes Flame awaited his 'surprise'.

Cynder thought for a moment about her predicament and a devious thought came to her mind that she couldn't pass up. Taking a deep breath Cynder took in all the air she could and exhaled a green fume that made Flame cough. "How's that?" Cynder asked deviously.

"What was that?" Flame coughed. After the coughing fit stopped he began to stiffen.

Cynder had an evil smile on her face, "Paralysis gas, something I learned to do over the year."

Flame made an unintelligible mumble not able to move any part of his body, even his mouth.

"What was that?" Cynder asked playfully, "Stunned are you? I tend to have that effect on people." Cynder mimicked Flame. Walking out of the garden Cynder said, "Next time be careful what you wish for. Oh and my name is Cynder, thanks for asking."

Flame made another unintelligible mumble.

"Don't worry, it will wear off by morning." Cynder called back to Flame. Walking along the pathway back to the castle Cynder couldn't help but laugh to herself.

"What's so funny?" Cynder heard someone ask. Looking up Cynder saw Ember making her way towards her."

"Oh, high Ember." Cynder laughed, "Some jerk tried to make a pass to me, rather poorly I would say."

Ember groaned, "It wouldn't happen to be a red dragon about yey high?" Ember asked raising the tip of her tail to Flames height.

"I don't know if he was red but he had a round muzzle and looked a bit rough around the edges." Cynder replied.

"Straight horns?" Ember dared to ask.

Cynder nodded, 'That's the guy, why you know him?"

"Flame." Ember nodded, "He was the one I told you I was looking for." Ember's eyes widened, "I hope he didn't give you any trouble, he is a bit of a womanizer."

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Cynder replied, "although he may be a bit sore tomorrow."

"Why is that?" Ember asked.

"I umm…" Cynder started to explain.

Ember shook her head, "Never mind, I'm sure he deserved it."

"Oh yea, he did." Cynder agreed wholeheartedly.

Ember sighed walking past Cynder, "Well I might as well go see what he got himself into."

As Ember left Cynder shook her head not knowing who she should feel more sorry for; Ember for having a friend like Flame, or Flame for what Ember might do to him. Lost in her own thoughts Cynder didn't even notice that she had lost her sense of direction in the castle. When she finally realized it she was hopelessly lost. "Now where am I?" she asked herself.

"There you are." Cynder heard from behind her, she turned to see Spyro, and it was Spyro this time. The candle light that lit the halls was bright enough for Cynder to see that Spyro was purple. "I have been looking everywhere for you."

"Sorry." Cynder said, "I lost track of time in the garden, then Flame held me up even more, and then there was Ember," looking around herself still not sure where in the castle she was she added, "and I got lost."

Spyro cocked his head curiously, "Who's Flame?"

"The other you." Cynder said playfully. Spyro had a confused look on his face, "Ember's friend that she was looking for, the one who she said looked like a red you." Cynder added.

"Oh, him." Spyro finally said remembering that event, "So he does look like me then?" he asked.

Cynder smiled, "No, not exactly." a questioning look appeared on Spyro's face, "He is not as cute as you." Cynder said as she walked past Spyro lightly tickling her scythe tale on Spyro's jaw. "So what did you do tonight?"

"Right!" Spyro said excitedly as he remembered why he was looking for Cynder in the first place, "A new inn opened not that far from the castle, everyone is there, even the Griffin Guard." Spyro walked in front of Cynder, "Come on I'll show you."

* * *

**Classes start in about a month so I had to get some things out of the way. And then in about a month the whole damn ordeal starts over again. I'm really disappointed that I didn't finish the story but you know how inconsistent I am, and I apologize for that. Ah well, hopefully I can finish it before I grow grey.**


	42. Chapter 42

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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**Chapter 42: Prelude to War**

The moons rested high in the sky as Ace sat next to his dead wife's grave. He was remembering the times that he and Elizabeth had together; the good, the bad, and the embarrassing. One in particular was when Ace was very young, back when he and Elizabeth weren't the best of friends, Elizabeth had tricked him into falling into the royal garden's fountain. She had lead him through the hedge maze and blinded him with darkness, a harmless act in of itself but struck a blow to Ace's pride. She had tricked Ace in a similar matter many years later when they were on better terms but this time at Eagle Lake. However Ace got her back by teleporting behind her and pushing her into the lake, but not before Elizabeth grabbed Ace taking him with her. Oh the laughs that they shared that day, her sweet, pure, laugh. That night was the first night they kissed, twice actually, the first time was to stun Ace when they were at play, which it did, the second was more heartfelt. Ace still remembered that night vividly, Elizabeth's in his arms, her skin as smooth as satin, her eyes as blue as ice, her lips black like obsidian. Ace's thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps. He looked up to see Vladimir entering the sectioned off bit of garden that was Elizabeth's grotto.

"How are you holding up?" Ace asked.

Vladimir shook his head, "Not well…but I'll live." After a pause Vladimir dared to ask, "How about you?"

Ace looked towards Elizabeth's grave at his side then looked away mournfully, "The pain never goes away, but handling it gets better each day."

"I found my son's grave." Vladimir's voice shook, "He was the Grandmaster Knight-Paladin of my order." Vladimir shook his head with a sad chuckle, "I only wish I could have bee there for the coronation ceremony."

"You inspired him Captain Vladimir, your example is what gave him the strength to continue." Ace said encouragingly.

Nodding in agreement Vladimir replied, "Just as he has and will do for me." after a pause Vladimir scowled, "And if you insist one me not calling you King Benjamin then I must ask you to refrain from calling Captain Vladimir."

"Then what should I call you?" Ace mused.

"What should I call you?" Vladimir parroted.

"Ace or Ben." Ace replied.

"Vlad." Vladimir replied instantly after Ace.

Getting up Ace walked over to _Vlad_ and clapped a hand on his shoulder, "Well Vlad, I think we should go drown our sorrows and see what is going on in the happy city before it is plunged into war."

"About that…" Vlad began.

Ace interrupted, "I know that plan isn't full proof and so much can go wrong, but what choice do we have?"

"About that," Vlad continued, "I was thinking that the Griffin Guard could help."

"How so?" Ace asked.

"Come, I will tell you on the way to the nearest place that sells a good drink." Vlad replied.

"I know just the place." Ace laughed.

* * *

"Hello, and welcome to Light's Shadow!"

Cynder gave Spyro a sideways glance, "Um, Jas, what are you wearing?"

"Oh this thing?" Jas asked spinning in her black dress and apron, "I think it's cute." Jas was wearing a long black dress that reached to her ankles and black stockings and slippers with a bit of a heal. Her dress had a white collar and black sleeves that lead up to white cuffs with a single black band circling the cuff. Jas's white apron was miraculously clean and was frilly by the shoulders and tied with a perfect bow in the back. On her head Jas wore a laced headband that sat squarely on the top of her head.

"But why are you wearing that?" Cynder persisted.

Jas smiled saying, "I'm one of the new waitresses."

A man in the bar raised his hand and called, "Waitress!"

"Be right with you sir." Jas answered, "I have to get back to work, talk to you later." and she headed off towards the man apparently to take an order.

Taking a look around the room Cynder could see that the tables were full with patrons ranging from dragons to humans to elves and waitresses dashing from table to table. Under the clamor of voices and laughter Cynder could make out the sound of a piano. Spyro lead the way to the bar where they sat on the stools lining the counter. Behind the counter was a pretty woman with pale blue eyes, "Spyro your back!"

"Cynder, this is Kristina Hawklight of the Griffin Guard." Spyro said introducing the woman.

"Please call me Kristin, I only use my title as Griffin Guard to intimidate others." Kristin said cleaning a glass, "So this is your friend you were talking about, Cynder right?"

Nodding Cynder said, "Yeah, that's me." then a little uneasy, "Nice to meet you." Cynder could feel the glares directed at her by the more sober patrons, "I should go."

"But you just got here." Kristin implored, "You must stay." Cynder got up to leave and Kristina turned and sighed, "Let people believe what they want to believe as long as you don't believe it. If you do then it will become truth, but if you deny it they will start to see what you truly are." turning on her heals Kristin flourished her arms to her side presenting herself, "Take me for instance; some people think I am a filthy thief, other a noble thief who puts the law above all else, and others that think that I am not a thief entirely but a trickster who finds herself in the wrong place at the right time." turning her attention back to the glass she was cleaning Kristin continued talking, "While all of these contain truth, each one by themselves is false. Am I a thief? Yes, but not a lowly cutthroat or pickpocket. Do I abide by the law? Yes, but only when it is convenient, but I don't go out of my way to break the law. Am I a trickster?" Kristin chuckled, "Well aren't all thieves?" Kristin paused and placed the glass on the counter behind her, "So tell me, are you the Black Dragon Cynder scourge of the night? Or are you something else entirely?"

Many of the sober patrons quieted down waiting for Cynder's response, but the piano kept on playing but changed it's tempo from an upbeat bar song to a sad but sweet melody. Cynder paused wondering what to say, she decided the truth was the best, "I did some things that I was not proud of or that I could control. But I will take responsibility for my actions regardless. I don't ask for forgiveness, I doubt anyone could, all I ask is that anyone that would judge me first knows who they are condemning." The people that were listening, and even those who weren't were all in a hush, even the piano. Cynder paused to let her words sink in and then started her way to the door.

A bald man who was broad in the shoulders and had a neatly trimmed beard got up from his chair and stepped in front of Cynder as she passed. The man was wore a fine white shirt under a brown vest and had a glove only on his right hand. The man also had a scar over his right eye, Cynder tried to step around him but there was no room for her to do that. The man opened and closed his mouth several time having a hard time finding what he wanted to say. "Then who are you?" The man finally asked.

The question took Cynder by surprise she stammered to answer, "I am just a girl who was unfortunate enough to be under the Dark Master's control. What he turned me into is not who I am, I am just trying to fix what he did to my life."

The man though over Cynder's words for a minute and shook his head, "Is what you say true?"

"Why would I lie? I didn't ask for any of this, but it is a burden I must bear." Cynder replied.

The man sighed and there was a metallic click and a blade shot out of the man's forearm and he pointed it at Cynder tearing off the rest off his sleeve revealing a crude metallic arm. Many of the people gasped and started to murmur. Cynder heard Spyro shout and Kristin calmed him. "Seven years ago I lost my arm to the black dragon when my troop was sent out to scout the area of Hammer's Forge. Lost a lot of men that day and my arm. If it weren't for the mages of Hammer's Forge I would have been long dead or crippled. I have sought revenge on the black dragon for what she did to me and so many others. But," the man pulled up his arm and the blade retraced with a flick of his wrist, "that dragon died and you were unfortunate enough to take it's place. I can never forgive what that beast did to me and others, but I can forgive the one who bears that beast's burden. And hell and damnation to everyone who can't see that!" the man shouted to make sure everyone heard him.

"Yeah, a pox to you all!" someone called from the corner of the room. Cynder looked over to see Lan playing cards at a table with other mages, judging by their colorful attire and strange trinkets on the table.

Having nothing more to say the man with the metal arm sat back down at his table attending to his drink. "I'm sorry for what happened Mr.…" Cynder started.

"Segre," the man said, "and _you_ have nothing to be sorry for." taking a drink from his mug he added, "But thanks, it helps to know that there was a heart in that beast. Glad to see it out in the open and not covered with black curtains." Segre put emphasis on black and shot a friendly look at Cynder.

As Cynder walked back to Spyro the piano started to play again back to it's sad but sweet melody, peering through the crowd Cynder could glimpse Chad at the piano wearing a black long sleeved shirt under a white vest and black pants. Owen was sitting next to Chad's piano with an assortment of instruments at his feet and a cello in one hand and a bow in the other. He wore a white long sleeved shirt under a black vest and white pants. The cello in Owen's hands was making long and sad notes that complimented the piano.

"That was brilliant!" Kristin praised as Cynder got to the bar, "Remember it takes just one pebble to start an avalanche."

"What do you mean?" Cynder asked.

Kristin smiled, "Take a look."

Cynder looked around the room and saw most of the people that cast a glance at her quickly looked away with guilt. Others gave Cynder a friendlier look, if at least not openly hostile.

As Cynder turned back to Kristin she held up a finger, "Just one." A short man walked up to Kristin from behind the bar and she bent down so he could whisper in her ear. "Excuse me but I have to attend to some business." she said to Spyro and Cynder and followed the man out through the kitchen, "Evan you're watching the bar until I get back!" she called from the kitchen.

"What? Wait! Miss Kristin!" Evan protests were heard from the kitchen.

"You'll be fine, I won't be long." Kristin reassured.

Shortly after Evan walked out of the kitchen's double doors with a sigh. His arms were covered in flour an he was wearing a stained white shirt with it's sleeves rolled up to the elbows and two rows of buttons up the shirt. He also wore black pants and a white hat that looked like a deflated mushroom.

"Evan what are you doing here?" Spyro asked.

Looking up Evan saw his dragon friends with a relived look on his face then looked towards the kitchen in disgust, "It's Sven's idea. He said that being a blacksmith is being like a cook…or was it the other way around? Anyways since I am his apprentice I _have _to do what he says."

Sven poked his head through the window were the orders were taken, "And an apprentice shouldn't gripe when he is told what to do!" he said pointing a dripping ladle at Evan.

Shaking his head Evan turned to Spyro and Cynder, "So can I get you anything or what?"

* * *

Walking through the moonlit back alleys Kim was making her way to the inn The King's Sword. Which was, up until recently, in Assassin control but now in the hands of the Thieves. Kim would normally take the main streets but she has been followed since she left the castle grounds and if there was a conflict she didn't want it to be in the eye of the public. It was no secret to Kim that she was being followed by other Disciples from the Assassin's order, she learned the sound of all of the Disciples footsteps and could place names to most of them. This wasn't the first time she has been followed, being the potential top of the class, many would challenge her to see if Kim's prowess was true and then perplexed when she would defeat them without much effort. When asked why she would not take '_a certain oath_' Kim would tell them that live was to precious to waste and continue on her way.

Tonight was different however, usually there would be between one and three that would follow her. Now there was close to twenty or more. Turning down a familiar ally Kim walked into a small clearing amongst the cramp buildings, this is where Kim would usually lead her previous challengers here because there were no doors or windows facing the clearing and the spar would not be witnessed.

As Kim got to the center of the clearing the Disciples started to descend from the buildings or creep out of their hiding places, Kim counted twenty three but she knew she missed a few. "Why so many this time? Think you can wear me out if you throw enough at me?" Kim taunted. Taking a second look at the Disciples gathered she noticed that a majority of them were the ones she defeated in the past.

One of the Disciples stepped out of the crowd. Kim recognized him, Maximilian, Max to his friends. Kim considered him plain as far as looks go, aside from his long black hair that he tied back with a leather cord, he was the only other Disciple that put up much of a challenge for Kim "Kim you have to hide your in great danger!" Max said frantically.

"What do you mean?" Kim inquired now curious by Max's urgency.

Catching his breath Max gathered his thoughts, "The Order, they are after you, they want you dead."

Kim felt weak in the knees but managed to keep herself up, "Me?" Kim stammered, "Is this some kind of joke? Why would they want me dead?"

"We don't know the exact details but it has something to do with the raid on our dojo." Max explained, "From what we gathered the higher ups think you betrayed them."

Kim shook her head in disbelief, "But I didn't!" Kim pleaded.

Max looked away from Kim not wanting to see the strongest among them in such a moment of weakness, "I'm afraid that it is to late, they already sent out the Raven's after you."

Kim couldn't take it anymore, she collapsed to her knees and a few of the surrounding Disciples rushed to support her but she ignored them, "The Raven's." Kim said absently. _I am as good as dead. _She thought. _The Raven's, the best of the best. _Kim despaired, but something still puzzled her, "But why send so many to deliver a message? Why would the Order warn me at all?"

The crowd of Disciples shifted uneasily, Max looked to his comrades for reassurance, "We didn't come here on the Orders behalf. We came here to join you."

"What?" Kim asked.

"We came to follow you out of the Order." Max clarified, "You always stood firm against the Order when it came to their oaths and methods of killing." Max shifted uneasily, "You showed us how to be strong, that life is precious. We all want out, we want to join the Thieves!"

Kim looked blankly at Max, the reason why she was out tonight _was _to talk to Kristin about joining, but Kim was just going to ask Kristin what the Thieves were about. Now that she was hunted by the Orders top killers, she had no choice but to join the Thieves. Snapping herself out of her sulky mood Kim shot up and walked over to Max, "Follow me, we need to move quickly. If the Raven's are after me then they will be after all of you for wanting to join the Thieves." Kim saw movement out of the corner of her eye, "To late." Kim declared, "Stay together and don't run. They will pick you off one by one if you do." Kim announced to the Disciples.

Kim gasped as the figure out of the corner of her eye, it was Kristin with a troop of Thieves in tow. "You all best follow us if you want to live, the 'Raven's' are closing in." Kristin said looking over her shoulder nervously.

Kim rushed over to Kristin, "You came for us?"

Kristin nodded watching her flank like a hawk, "Yes we did, but now is not the time nor place to talk. We are not safe here." Kristin snapped to her left and held out a blade that appeared in her hand, "Hello again."

There was a shimmer in front of Kristin's blade that focused into the familiar figure of Terry. Terry wore a much different clothing than what she usually wares, she wore black feathered pauldrons and a black hood that shrouded her face and was the resemblance of a raven's head. Her cuirass was reinforced with black leather and bore the seal of the Assassin's in the center of the chest. Terry wore a black dress, of a sort, that was split down the center in the front and back, from her waist down. Underneath her split dress she wore baggy black pants that tucked into knee high black leather boots. In her black leather gauntlets Terry held a sinister blade that dripped with a green liquid.

Terry hissed at Kristin when she materialized holding the poisoned blade posed for a strike and Kristin's blade near Terry's throat. Twelve other figures adorned in a similar fashion as Terry appeared from the shadows, each one poised to strike. Kim fell to her knees knowing that her time had come and everyone, besides the Raven's, was going to die tonight.

One of the twelve that appeared out of the dark pulled Kim up by the hair from behind her and held a blade up to her throat. The poison that coated the blade burned her skin and she clawed at the hand holding the dagger. Try as she might she could not pry the blade away, even with her werewolf strength. _Fool_, she thought, _the Raven's wear enchanted armor that enhance their abilities, including strength._ Kim still fought hoping she was wrong, that she could overcome the armor's strength. That is when she felt the blade cut her throat.

Kim heard other Disciples shout and scream as she fell to the ground and she could feel life slowly escape her as her blood spurt from her throat and the poison burned her veins. As Kim felt the last ounce of life escape her she felt an itch in the back of her mind and death took her.

"Stop!" Kim heard someone shout, his voice boomed above the commotion.

Dazed, Kim's world spun around her and she was on the ground gasping for air away from the Raven that held her, but that was the farthest thing from her mind, she was alive! Her vision blurred as she tried to stand and felt the support of two people on either side of her, two thieves judging from their attire. "Are you alright?" one asked, "We got you." said the other.

"Thanks." Kim mouthed, she was to weak for words. In front of her she saw her killer, but more importantly was the man standing next to him.

Aramazd, the old yet strong Master of the Assassin's Order was yelling at the Raven that slit Kim's throat, though Kim couldn't understand what he was saying through her groggy senses. The Raven said something to Aramazd and Aramazd struck the Raven with the back of his hand. Aramazd walked over to Kim with great strides, Kim could now see Aramazd more clearly, her mind clearing a bit.

"Tell me child are you unharmed?" Aramazd spoke with an accent that Kim has come to recognize as Russian from when Owen, Lan, and Evan would talk amongst themselves when they didn't want anyone to know what they were talking about. Aramazd was a true sight, despite his age he was in the prime of health, although his full white beard and grey eyes reminded you that he was indeed old. He wore black robes with red trim on the edges of the robe and a mantle of black feathers. "Are you alright?" Aramazd asked again. Kim nodded weakly. Aramazd's angry features softened a bit but then hardened as he turned back to the Raven's, "Get out of my sight, I will deal with each of you personally when I find a punishment fitting enough!" Aramazd put emphasis on personally. The Ravens disappeared a suddenly as they appeared, melting into the shadows, "That means you too Terry." Aramazd said in a threatening tone. Terry froze about to strike Kristin and disappeared with her comrades. When all of the Raven's were gone Aramazd rubbed his eyes, "What a mess. Don't you go anywhere, I'm not through with any of you just yet!" everyone in the courtyard froze, several of the Disciples tried to slip away.

"Kim are you alright?" lifting her head Kim saw Kristin standing in front of her with a concerned look on her face. Trying to speak Kim felt Kristin's finger on her lips, "I'll explain it all later, right now you need some rest."

"I'm afraid that is not an option Ms. Hawklight." Aramazd said, "Every Assassin here needs to be dealt with accordingly, while I thank you for your contact informing me that the Raven's moved without my order I cannot let these Disciples go unpunished. Especially the source of this disturbance." Aramazd shot a look past Kristin and towards Kim.

Kristin stepped forward, "Then punish me." she offered. Aramazd gave Kristin a questioning look, "I was the one who took your dojo, I was the one that planted the thought of joining the Thieves in Kim's mind, and in turn the other Disciples. I should be the one punished, not them."

Taking slow, paced, steps towards Kristin Aramazd spoke, "If you were a student of the Order I would make an example of you without a second thought. But seeing how you are not I will not, and besides Ms. Hawklight, your name carries great weight and _I _would not go unpunished were I to harm you." Aramazd paused as he stood in front of Kristin, in a low whisper he said, "I know your story better than any Bard Ms. Raveneye." Kristin staggered back a step and her face was as pale as bed sheets. Turning around Aramazd continued talking, "You might not be one of us, I doubt you even know of our customs and even if you knew thousands of years ago they are drastically changed to that band of murderers. Though we still hold on to the old principles. Maximilian!"

"Yes sir!" Max ran out of the crowd of Disciples and in front of his master.

"What is the first and foremost code that Assassins live by?" Aramazd questioned.

Max, taken aback by such a simple command, answered, "As a free man can choose to kill so a free man can choose not to. We are free as the day we are born with no man to rule us, unless we freely choose to be ruled. If someone should take away a free man's freedom unlawfully then shall the Assassin's be ever vigilant to reclaim that freedom. For a man is free to do as he pleases."

"Then what is stopping you?" Aramazd questioned.

"What?" Max asked confused.

Aramazd stormed towards Max and glared over him, "If a man is free to do as he pleases what stops you from doing the same? What stops you from joining the Thieves?" Maxed gapped for the answer he did not know, "Has a man robbed you of your freedom? Has any man robbed any of you of your freedom?" Aramazd asked the crowd of scared Disciples.

"No." Kim said weakly, but was not heard.

"Does a man rule over you unlawfully?" Aramazd boomed.

"No." Kim said louder.

Max heard Kim and echoed quietly, "No."

"What was that?" Aramazd asked angrily.

Max shied back but found strength in Kim's reassuring stare, "No." Max said louder.

"Were you born without freedom?" Aramazd demanded.

"No." Max said with gaining confidence, a few murmurs were heard through the group of Disciples.

"Are you a slave?" Aramazd asked with growing intensity.

"No!" Max shot back, many more Disciples shouted with Max, adding to his voice.

"Then what is stopping you?" Aramazd asked calmly.

Max was thrown off by the switch of questions, but he persisted, "Nothing!"

With a quick movement Aramazd responded with the back of his hand sending Max toppling to the ground holding his cheek, "Foolish boy! You forget the Code!"

On the ground Max gathered himself, "To abandon the Code is to forget the Code."

"Correct!" Aramazd beamed, "While a man is free to do as he wishes so to does the Order realize this. If a free man were to abandon the Order he would abandon the Code, but that poses a risk to the security of the Order so for one to truly abandon the Code one has to truly forget the Code, and the Order." Aramazd added as a subtle hint. Offering a hand to Max Aramazd pulled him to his feet, "So as a free man what will you do?"

Max, rubbing his cheek, answered, "Join the Thieves."

"But that is to abandon the Code." Aramazd pointed out.

"So it seems." Max answered defiantly.

Aramazd chuckled, "You have made me proud my boy, I only wish your parents could have lived to see this day. To see when their boy realizes what it means to be a free man." Aramazd pulled Max into a hug, "You made your Grandfather proud." walking away from Max and before all of the Disciples and announced, "All of those who claim to be free man stand now firm with your choice for what is done can never be undone. Once you abandon the Order you will never be accepted back, so if any of you that are second guessing yourselves leave now and flee back to the Order were you will be dealt with accordingly. However if you sand firm with your decision then remain." There was murmuring among the crowd and a handful of Disciples started to walk away but then returned in the same movement. Aramazd pulled a small black gem from his pocket, "You will forget everything about the Order; who is an Assassin, where our dojo's and sanctuaries are, our Code, all oaths you have taken will be null and void, every art that you have ever learned will be forgotten. Fear not thought for those who fret over their prowess, your mind may forget but your body will not and the Thieves will retain you." Holding the gem above his head Aramazd warned, "This is your last chance to reconsider."

Max stepped up to his grandfather, "Everyone that is an Assassin?" Aramazd nodded, "But you are the only family I have."

"Fear not Maximilian, I will watch you from a distance, sometimes closer if the situation demands it." Aramazd reassured, turning his attention to the crowd he continued, "You will remember one thing only, that you were once Assassins and you chose to leave. Everything I have told you this night you will remember for the rest of your lives, you will know what you forgot without knowing what you forgot. Now go as free men!"

A black cloud swirled from the gem engulfing the courtyard. Kim couldn't comprehend what exactly was happening as her mind began to slip from her. One thing did strike her as odd though, _Where is Kristin?_

* * *

Ace and Vlad were laughing over a few drinks exchanging stories, though Ace considered Vlad's far more interesting than his own, and Vlad considered Ace's more interesting than his.

"Surely you are joking?" Vlad asked through tears of laughter.

Ace shook his head laughing just as hard, "No! She actually did, pushed me right over the falls!"

"So what happened next?" Vlad persisted.

"I grabbed her and pulled her down with me!" Ace retorted with a wide smile on his face.

"I'm surprised you two married after all of your squabbling." Vlad chuckled.

Ace shook his head taking a drink from his tankard, "That was nothing, I remember one time…" Ace was disturbed when a guard tapped him on the shoulder and whispered into Ace's ear, "Say that again." Ace said now apparently sober. The guard repeated his message, "Then rouse the Order of the Dagon, the Royal Guard, the City Watch, and any able man who can take up arms." Ace ordered and the guard saluted and moved to carry out his task.

"What's wrong?" Vlad asked through his drink. Ace had a very grim look on his face and Vlad took note of that and set down his drink.

Ace hesitated trying to process what he had just been told, leaning closer to Vlad he said, "We prepare for war at dawn."

* * *

**Woo! Now that I have all the annoyingly necessary crap out of the way I can concentrate on the End Story now. And then starts the next story *groan*. Well classes have been going on for a couple of weeks now so that is **_**Mainly**_** why this chapter has been delayed. The second is all of the damn games that are coming out now, so much money spent :'(**


	43. Chapter 43

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 43: Negotiation**

In the following week Lux lucis started to take on the semblance of a fortress than that of a city. The fortress was protected by men, metal, and magic enough to make any foe reconsider their attack on this fair city. Hector's mages flocked to the city taking up residence in the local Mage Hall, a seemingly small building on the outside but the size of a castle on the inside. Most of the mage's were some of Hector's oldest friends, other were powerful Magisters or Archmages that heeded Hector's call. The Order of the Dragon that was branched outside the walls were brought back to the Order's home for the coming battle. So many from the Order of the Dragon came to the city that they started taking up residence in any building with an extra bed or space suitable enough for sleep, for the Order's barracks in the city were brimming to bursting. Any dragons or mages that were skilled in moving earth were tasked with the construction of the oversized pitfall traps. Ace recruited any able body man to the ranks of his army and sent them immediately to be trained by Roland and his elite guard. Tear and Vlad helped train the more unskilled fighters, at Ace's request, with hopes that they could train them faster with the same results as Roland and his elites. In the time that Tear wasn't training soldiers he trained Ty, helping Ty tune himself with Lupus along the way. Vlad formulated battle plans with the War Council in his spare time.

Martin pleaded to the Arcane Council for him to teach the students at the University the lost magic that he had to offer. The Arcane Council refused Martin's request and forbade him from any attempt to teach the lost arts to anyone save for them for "safety precautions". Martin just as kindly refused to teach the Arcane Council his magic saying.

"My magic is for everyone, not just for pompous windbags who know how to cast a Magic Flare who are so high on their pedestal. I will not have you horde knowledge that should rightfully belong to any mage that wishes it. If asked for my magic I will answer, but not to you." The Council decided used their powers to try and impress and terrify Martin, to bad for the Council that Martin did the same, and won.

Sending a calling over the Psy-wave Violet and Miranda called for any Psychics that would aid them. Unfortunately out of the hundreds of Psychics, little more than a few dozen accepted the call and little more than a score actually arrived. Jas was trained to the limits that her mind could handle, and then some. She met with Fate only once in this time and he only repeated his message with remorse and would not talk to her afterwards.

Taking Sven's advice Evan abandoned his idea of fighting a war with his fists and forged himself a hammer out of his metal skin. With the help of the tools Lan enchanted for Evan the metal molded into Evan's imagining. He forged a mighty battle hammer, with Sven's assistance, the shaft was the length of Evan's arm with the bottom half wrapped in leather. The hammers head was a three dimensional tetradecagon perfectly symmetrical in every way, all fourteen sides decorated in runes that Sven personally engraved. The two sides of the hammer were engraved with crosses axes that themselves had runes embedded in them. The five faces that made up the hammer's striking heads each had the same design, the initial design was that of an "x" but was overlapped and under lapped in overlapping and under lapping lines, curves, and swirls. Lan put a special enchantment on the hammer to make it impervious to most magic, when Evan asked if Lan could put the enchantment on him Lan said that the spell only works on objects. Evan named the battle hammer Undivver, he found the name in a book, it means hope and future.

Relearning her abilities, along with the other former Assassins, Kim was frustrated but soon learned that her body retained the knowledge she had lost. Kristin was more than willing to retrain the Thieves feeling somewhat guilty for the position they are in. Every scrap of knowledge the Assassin's had about the Order was lost, save for the night they lost their memory. The former Assassins remembered every event clearly but could not remember the names or faces of who attacked them or remember who it was that wiped their memory. One memory not lost that stuck out in Kim's mind was that she somehow cheated death, when Kim asked Kristin she would say that Kim was "Not ready yet."

For the most part Owen slept the days away and when he wasn't sleeping he would help Tear and Vlad train soldiers. However, contrary to his friend's belief, Owen was training viciously with the Keeper of Fate for the day when he would fight Umbra for control of Owen's body. Owen was worried that he would have to fight Umbra in the middle of the battlefield. Fate told Owen that scenario was very unlikely, liking those odds, Owen put full faith in Fate. When Owen helped train soldiers he was mainly used by Tear and Vlad to see how well the soldiers could adapt to Owen's "unorthodox" fighting which translated into how well the soldiers could adapt in battle against an unknown enemy.

Outwardly, Lan was unconcerned by the inevitable battle and continued his days as he would any other; classes, research, experimenting, and overall lolling around. Inwardly, however, Lan was a nervous wreck, he would often go over several dozen scenarios in his head that would ultimately fail. Lan's biggest concern was Alexis's safety and if he would even be allowed to fight in the coming war while tasked with protecting her, that put another dozen scenarios in his head. Alexis was the only one keen enough to pick up on Lan's distress but had no idea how to help him in any real way. All she could do was ask what was on his mind to which he would reply with a misdirection or change the subject to philosophy or talk about Earth. The latter always interested Alexis but Lan didn't want to worry Alexis with his inner doubts and concerns, which he unknowingly did, but Lan wasn't as keen as Alexis on such matters.

After finding out that Ace was preparing for war Chad disappeared for three days without so much as a word. Once he returned he locked himself in his room not allowing anyone in, aside from a plate of food. Despite all attempts to access Chad's room they failed in the end and the one time someone managed to get Chad to answer the door he yelled at them for disturbing his concentration and not to do it again. Though in that one time Chad showed that he was tired and his eyes were bloodshot, probably from lack of sleep. From that day on not one person walked the hall that lead to Chad's room.

With the arrival of the Elders, Spyro and Cynder received some much needed training. Although they might have had much martial training they had little to no elemental training in the time they have been at Lux lucis. The training with the Elders was not as personal as it had been at the Temple before Spyro and Cynder left it. Now there were actually students, mostly from the Order of the Dragon that wanted to hone their element and dragons from the city that wanted to help fight in the war or those who were drafted. Spyro and Cynder, being as adept at their elements as they are, sometime taught classes of their own when the Elders were swamped with students. Surprisingly Cynder taught more than Spyro did since she was one of the few dragons that has the power over poison, wind, and fear, no dragon that ever came to Cynder possessed the power of shadow, strange. More importantly though was that the dragons under Cynder's teachings became quite accepting of her despite their initial protest.

As the last days of preparation drew to a close Ace grew worried, _Why hasn't Cyrus returned yet? _Ace had taken to wearing less casual and more regal attire now at the Griffin Guard's request, "To bolster the people's confidence." they said, much to Ace's displeasure. What Ace wore today was less ornate than what he had worn in the past week. He wore a burgundy long sleeved shirt with elaborate gold embroidered dragons along his sleeves that broke into smaller dragons along his chest and abdomen. Over the shirt Ace wore his father's cross, his birthright. Ace wore black pants that tucked into polished black knee high boots and a belt with a golden belt buckle that displayed the Spade's family crest, his family crest, a phoenix with its wings stretched towards the sky. The ever present awe inspiring crown sat squarely on Ace's head, how he hated the thing, and Ace retook the habit of wearing his sword everywhere. Even worse than the crown was the blasted cape that he was forced to wear, crimson and lined with white fur and displaying the Spade's crest on the back in gold, the damn thing always managed to tickle his face or managed to trip him up or get caught in doors, plus it was near impossible to sit comfortably in it.

Hearing armored footsteps Ace guessed it was either Vlad or Roland, "Ace there is a visitor for you." it was Vlad.

Turning, thinking it was more civilians that wanted to join the army or nobles wanting their offspring out of the army, Ace was surprised to see the wolf eared head of Cyrus, "Took you long enough," Ace started sarcastically, "I was just thinking if you were ever going to show up."

"No wonder my ears have been ringing." Cyrus shot back cheerily.

"Isn't that when people talk about you?" Ace questioned jokingly.

Cyrus shrugged, "Talk, think, does it matter? My ears are ringing regardless."

"So tell me the good news." Ace inquired, he was dying to know if the Pack would join in the war.

Cyrus scratched the back of his head, "The Pack will help."

"That's great news!" Ace said joyously.

"On a few conditions." Cyrus added reluctantly.

Ace frowned, he knew it wouldn't be a simple yes, "Well what are they?"

Cyrus shrugged again, "I don't know, She wants to talk to you personally about the matter."

There was no question who _She_ was, the Pack Mother, always at odds with civilization and all who live in it. If _She _couldn't gain anything _She_ would never put the Pack on the line, especially for Lux lucis. "Well then were is the negotiation going to take place?"

"The Pack is half a day away, that is as close as She will let the Pack get to the city without her agreements being met, or most of them. She has set up the meeting place between our camp and the city, she is already there." Cyrus replied.

"Then lets go." Ace urged.

"I will organize an escort." Vlad insisted.

"No!" Cyrus and Ace blurted out.

"No guards, no escort, no convoy only Her, Ace, me, and the princes." Cyrus said.

Vlad had his mouth agape at the thought of royalty not having an escort outside the caste, "Ace you are really not going to agree to such a demand?"

"Of course." Ace replied nodding, "She holds all the cards I want, and I will give Her any demand, that is not to outlandish, to the best of my ability." Vlad was trying to find words of protest but couldn't, "Cyrus, go try and find the boys we meet at the castle gate in one hour, that should give me enough time to prepare."

"I will try my best, any ideas were to start?" Cyrus asked.

Ace shrugged, "Chad is in his room, you may have to drag him out, he refuses to leave for any reason. But you were a harsher instructor than Brad, it shouldn't be that much trouble for you. As for Owen he is either sleeping or gallivanting around the city. Ask Jas for a more precise location, she always seems to know were to look for him, she should be in the library." Cyrus nodded and went out the door. Ace sighed as his friend left and rubbed his eyes with one hand in contemplation.

Vlad stepped forward in protest, "Why are you agreeing to such terms Ace? The entire Royal Family without so much as a single bodyguard. Surely this 'She' can't carry so much weight."

"She does and more." Ace replied shortly.

Vlad threw up his arms, "Well who is 'She'?"

Ace walked over to the window with his hands on the frame, "She is the Pack Mother, she is the ruler, guardian, and caretaker of all werewolves."

"Which brings me to something, why in the Eternal Names of the Ancestors would you even allow such a beast in your halls, much less ally yourself with them?" Vlad demanded.

In a fit of anger Ace teleported right in front of Vlad with an angry scowl, "Cyrus is not a creature, he is not beast, he is my friend and is as much a man just like you and me. I have fought beast before and they are nothing like Cyrus!" Ace spun around to the window and slammed his hands on the frame.

Vlad, surprised but Ace's anger, was paralyzed, "I did not mean to offend, I was just surprised that relations with the beas….the Pack are better than when I last walked the Kingdom."

Relaxing Ace leaned out the window, "No I'm sorry, I should have know that Cyrus would have been a surprise to you, and my plans about the Pack. Relations with the Pack may not be on solid ground right now, but your right, they are better than your time. That is to say that there is some peaceful negotiations between civilization and the Pack."

"I see." Vlad pondered, "I don't mean to pry, or offend for that matter, but what does the Pack Mother have that grants her to make these demands without so much as a word of resistance from you?"

"Even if she didn't I would still go without so much as shred of protection were she to demand it." Ace blurted out and wish he didn't.

Vlad took an uneasy step forward, "So she does hold something over you, dare I ask what?" Ace stayed quiet for a long time not intending to answer, "I see, well forget I asked. I should go attend to the soldiers."

As Vlad was about to leave Ace spoke, "It was when I was very young, I nearly died, She saved my life."

Pausing Vlad asked, "How so? Surely you would have healed given the time."

Ace shook his head, Vlad's words couldn't be farther from the truth, "With all due respect Vladimir, I cannot tell you, I cannot tell anyone. One other person know besides Her and I, and he has sworn not to even speak of the matter, with Her or me."

"Oh." Vlad replied realizing the gravity of the debt Ace owed, "I will go attend to the soldiers like I said. It seems you have much to think about."

Ace leaned on the windowsill without a word as Vlad left. _There was another who knew, Elizabeth._ The thought of Ace's dead wife brought pain to the broken King, _Ancestors how I wish she was here._

* * *

In one hour Ace was waiting at the castle's gate, Cyrus was already waiting with Chad and Owen. Owen, apparently, had managed to set up his hammock between the towers that were spaced closer together…on top of the castle. Cyrus had to gain the assistance of Brad who flew them up to Owen. Ace would talk to Owen about it later. Chad on the other hand was much easier to obtain, Cyrus knocked on Chad's door expecting that he would have to wrestle Chad out of his room. To the contrary Chad walked out with a somber look on his face and said, "Lets go."

Ace couldn't agree more, "Lets go meet with the Pack Mother.

Waiting on top of a small hill the Pack Mother had a clear view of the city, even if it was a large bump on the horizon. She saw the small convoy of the Royal Family and Cyrus long before they saw her. "Ah, Cyrus, so good of you to bring company." She said playfully, "So good to see you too Ben."

"Mother." Ace replied and bowed respectfully.

The Pack Mother turned her attention to the princes, "Nice to meet you again Owen and you too Chad, ah, that hasn't happened yet has it? Or has it?" She said impishly.

Chad and Owen bowed and Chad replied shakily, "Yes Mother, this is our second meeting."

"Good to know that we are on the same level of understanding." She replied knowingly.

"Shall we start the negotiations?" Ace asked.

Turning towards Ben the Pack Mother nodded, "Yes, lets, it is the reason why you are here."

Ace shrugged, "Well what are your demands? You know mine, I would like the Pack's assistance in the coming war against Nexus."

"That is quite a hefty demand their, I do expect compensation." The Pack Mother said wryly.

"What do you want?" Ace asked blatantly.

Slowly pacing around Ben the Pack Mother listed her demands, "I require three things before I agree to help you. First I request that I carry the Lunar Medallion from the time I arrive at the city to the time until Nexus is defeated or banished from this world again."

"That seams reasonable," Ace replied firmly standing in one place as the Pack Mother paced around him, "granted."

Smiling the Pack Mother continued her pacing, "Second I require to have the Pack to be publicly accepted by the Kingdom, and I do not mean you, I mean that they will be accepted in any town they decide to visit or live in."

Ace staggered, "You cannot possibly expect the people to accept the Pack over night do you?"

"And yet you ask Us for help, strange how ones view shifts so quickly." The Pack Mother taunted.

"The best I can do is grant pardon the Pack and have laws that protect the werewolves, but not openly." Ace suggested.

Still pacing the Pack Mother asked, "Such as."

Ace stammered, "Well…I could pass laws that will prohibits open violence or discrimination towards werewolves, that would take care of street brawls and racism for the most part. But that does not mean that the werewolves can do whatever they please in towns and cites, they have to abide by the laws just like everyone else. There is also the matter of trust, laws can be placed on people and they will abide by them as well as they can, but you cannot force someone to like another person, or werewolf in this matter."

Smiling the Pack Mother said, "Agreed, it will be some time before my kin are as beloved as Cyrus in you cites, but we will achieve that." Stopping in front of Ben she held up one finger, "My last demand is that Owen will accompany the Pack when the war is over and will be under my jurisdiction until I say otherwise."

"What?" Ace asked physically recoiling away from the Pack Mother's demand, "Why?"

With a face of stone the Pack Mother replied, "Owen is unstable, I released him after he nearly lost control, and out of good faith mind you. Tell me how many time has Owen turned in the time since he has been with you?"

"None!" Ace barked back defensively.

"Wrong." The Pack Mother corrected and turned to Owen waiting for his answer.

Hesitating Owen answered, "Once."

"And when you did Tyler and Kimberly had to restrain you while Jasmine pushed you back into your _cage_." The Pack mother finished with venom on _cage_.

"How do you know that?" Owen asked surprised by the truth of her words.

Giving a knowing smile the Pack Mother answered, "I am the guardian of our kin, these things are known to me."

"No." Ace said after the Pack Mother finished, "I will not allow you to take Owen, I can't loose my sons again."

Turning angrily on Ben then her features softened with a motherly care, "I can understand you concern Ben, but if you don't let Owen come to the Pack after the war he will never be able to control himself. His outburst will get worse and worse until he become feral, and there is no coming back from that. What is a short time with the Pack compared to a life time apart from each other. Ben, you already know that pain, do you really want to go through that again?" The Pack Mother asked in a tone that a mother would use for comforting her child.

The Pack Mother's words cut deeper and wounded him more than any weapon of magic ever could. He had to walk away from the whole situation and stood at the edge of the hill with his back away from everyone else. Ace's head was spinning, _I can't make this decision!_ Ace took off his crown and held it in both of his hands and thinking of all the pain the bloody thing brought him. In a fit of frustration Ace gripped the crown and threw it with a frustrated yell, but stopped before the crown left his hands. Looking at the Pain in his hand he shook his head and was lost in his own thoughts and memories.

"I think we should let the boy decide this." Cyrus said, speaking for the first time since he left the city.

There was a pause before Owen replied, "I'll go with you."

"Does the _King _agree?" The Pack Mother asked.

Ace nodded, "Agreed."

"Then the Pack will fight this war with you." The Pack Mother promised.

"Then we are done here." Ace said hollowly and started his walk back to Lux lucis.

"Not quite yet." The Pack Mother corrected. Ace turned wondering what she could possibly mean, "I have a message for Chad, you think I would call him out here for no reason?" She walked over to Chad and whispered something into his ear and the look of horror overtook Chad's face. Whispering something else into his ear Chad relaxed, "Do you understand?" Chad simply nodded.

Ace was confused, "What did you say to him?"

With a sad look on her face the Pack Mother walked over to Ben and whispered to him so that only he could hear her, "Sometimes our Fate and Destiny is beyond our control." Now Ace was horrified and was going to raise words of protest but the Pack Mother continued, "Some thing happen for a reason, no matter how good, or how bad they are."

Ace understood what she meant but he didn't like it, "Whenever _they _are involved it is always bad." he whispered back.

The Pack Mother chuckled and whispered, "Follow the current Ben."

Before Ace could ask what she meant the Pack Mother walked away.

With the arrangements agreed upon they went their separate ways; Ace, Chad, and Owen heading towards Lux lucis, and the Pack Mother and Cyrus towards the Pack with promise of being at the city the next day. On the way back to the city Ace had a talk with Owen and Chad, not about what had happened but about the war to come. Ace made it clear that Owen and Chad would not participate in the war, and he received strong protest from both. However Ace was stronger by depicting the horrors of war and that the skirmish at the Temple was nothing compared to true battle. Reluctantly Owen and Chad agreed with Ace, although Chad seemed more devastated than Owen. When they arrived at the city Ace extended this restriction to all of the other children with much complaining on their part. He also made the final preparations for the war and put into action his promises to the Pack Mother and made the necessary laws to protect the Pack.

* * *

Days later, on the eve of the war, Ace was exhausted and finally rested, sleeping most of the day, but rest would not come to him.

It was late in the night and Nexus's army was spotted on the horizon, at dawn Ace's army would meet it head on. He needed the rest and was sleeping peacefully dreaming about a time before his happiness was taken from him, before his father died, before Elizabeth died.

"Ben, wake up Ben." Ace heard on the fringe of his dreams, who could possibly need him at this hour? "Ben wake up. I need to speak with you." Ace could feel that he was being shaken lightly.

Prying himself from his dreams Ace sat up in his bed and tired to see who woke him at this late hour of night. Through the haze of waking up Ace noticed that the candles around the room were lit lighting up the spacious room. There was a lone figure in a black cloak with the hood up standing a little ways from the bed, although Ace could tell that the figure was a woman. The figure was familiar, _It can't be._ Ace thought. The woman pulled down her hood revealing satin black skin, a mane of white hair, the ears of an elf, and ice blue eyes. Aside from the eyes this woman was undoubtedly a drow, the 'evil elves' tainted by the Original Shadow Court.

Ace's heart stopped and he leaped from the bed and grabbed the woman between his arms in full embrace. She stood a head shorter than Ace and wore tight fitting pants, boots with a bit of a heal, and a sleeveless shirt that revealed her belly, all blacker than her skin was. Ace was full of joy, he could never forget how his wife looked, and here she was, somehow, in his arms.

"I missed you so much Ellie." Ace choked through tears of joy.

Returning his embrace Elizabeth smiled, "I missed you too Ben."

_Ben, what I was called before she died_. Ben held Ellie back a little bit to reassure him that she was really in his arms, "How…how are you here? You died."

Ellie's smile faded away from her face and was replaced with pain, "I…I don't have much time.

Ben understood, "So you have gained favor of the Council to allow you to visit me."

"No." Ellie said shaking her head, "I can't explain, I just can't!" pulling herself away form Ben she turned her back to him.

"What do you mean? Why won't you tell me? And if the Council didn't allow you back from their domain how are you even hear?" Ben pleaded trying to understand, wanting to understand.

After a pause Ellie shook her head, "I am something that can be, an echo of something that could have been. I…I am dead in your world."

"I'm not following you." Ben said, "Talk to me Ellie, what is the matter?"

Ellie turned on Ben and started to scold him, "What the matter is that you won't let the children fight, especially our sons."

Ben was startled at Ellie's change in behavior, "You said it yourself, they are children, they don't belong in a war."

"You think that they won't try?" Ellie asked coyly, "Come now Ben, surely you know our children better then that, and their friends."

Throwing up his hands Ben would not admitted defeat, "What would you have me do? I will not risk loosing them like I lost you!" He wished he hadn't said that.

"And they will loose you if you don't let them fight!" Ellie rebutted, she wish she hadn't said that either.

"So that is what this is about?" Ben asked, his face paling.

Nodding slowly Ellie did not look at Ben, "I'm afraid so."

"Who sent you?" Ben demanded, "This goes far beyond the Council's limit, and the Guardians." he added reluctantly.

Ellie put a finger gently on Ben's lips, "That is not for you to know, not yet at least."

Grabbing her hand with both of his Ben asked, "Will I really die if I don't let them fight?"

"Ben, you have fought the currents of Fate and Destiny long enough." Ellie began grabbing his hand's with hers other one, "It is time to let go and see where the river takes you, who knows, you might even how out of the water and take a walk on dry land." Ellie added playfully. Ben looked away thinking about what she said, "Ben, if not for your sake, then for theirs. Do you really want them to feel the lose of you, like you felt the lose of me?" Ben shook his head, "Then let them fight." Ellie pleaded.

Nodding Ben admitted defeat, "I will let them fight, you have my word."

"Then my time here is over." Ellie said sadly.

"What?" Ben asked weakly.

Ellie started walking backwards, "I have to go Ben."

"You can't." Ben pleaded, "I don't want you to leave again."

Throwing her arms around Ben she hoisted herself for a kiss to stop Ben's pleading. Taking advantage of Ben's shock Ellie whispered in his ear, "Follow the current Ben. Follow the current." Ellie backed up and Ben watched her go.

Behind Ellie a while globe grew, it gave off no light despite its radiant whiteness, it was about a head taller than Ace and blocked his view of what was behind it. Ellie backed into the orb as if it wasn't solid and was seen inside the orb, surrounded by it. The orb shrank until it disappeared into nothingness, Ellie waving at Ben with a sad look on her face.

Ben was by himself, "Wait!" he pleaded when she was finally gone.

Shooting up from his bed Ace yelled, "Don't go!" His arm stretched out before him. Looking around the room Ace saw that it was before dawn and he was sitting in his bed with the covers on top of him. Putting his head in his hands Ace despaired, "It was just a dream, a cruel dream." Ace pushed that thought out of his head when he inhaled, his hands smelled like Elizabeth.

There was rapping at his door, "Ace, we have started mobilizing the army. Will you be long?" it was Vlad.

Pulling his hands from his face Ace replied, "I will be right there," He paused, "Vlad."

"Yes sir?" he asked from the other side of the door.

Hesitating Ace replied, "Rouse the children, they will fight along with us."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Vlad asked with the door mow open looking in.

"Do you think we could stop them if they wanted to fight anyways?" Ace asked rhetorically.

Vlad nodded in agreement, "I will do so immediately."

Ace watched as Vlad left the looked at his hands in contemplation, "I only hope it is the right thing." Getting out of bed Ace turned to his armor stand to armor himself.

* * *

**Yes I am bringing drow into the story, no I am not following the traditional manner in which they are portrayed. I want to put my own unique spin on the subject but will keep true to how the drow are usually perceived. Anyways I just finished with mid-terms and will have a bit of a breather. Also as a side note: if anyone can tell me what Undivver is from (if it is from anything) it would be appreciated, sounds familiar and I thought it would fit but I can't remember what it is from (if it is from anything). But if it isn't from anything then I guess I am ranting about nothing.**


	44. Chapter 44

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 44: Prepare for War**

"You called for me Headmaster?" Lan asked in Latin stiffening a yawn. Lan remembered that he was only allowed to speak Latin in the Ritual Chamber. _Why would Hector call me a such a late hour? And why did he call me to the Ritual Chamber?_ That was the odd thing about it, Lan didn't mind being called this early, it hadn't been the first, but Lan was suspicious.

Standing in the center of the room in the center of the Grand Magi Circle was Hector with his back towards Lan, "Ah, it is good you came." Turning to face Lan Hector put his hands behind his back and continued to speak in Latin, "I have some disturbing new, and I am not proud that I have to do this."

"What's this about?" Lan asked, his suspicion growing.

Hector paused before responding, "The Magi Council has decided that you are going to be the Mage leading the apprehension of the rouge Mages."

Lan's mood brightened, "That is an high honor they placed on me, wait, Mag_es_?"

Nodding Hector continued, "The first, as you know, is Nexus. The second we have just found out about…Lan, it's Kenneth."

"What!" Lan exclaimed, "How?"

"We have just found out, we managed to…look…inside Nexus's tower, what little we saw was Ken, and a few others we did not recognize, having council with Nexus. That was before Nexus noticed our presence and…disposed… of the Mages scrying." Taking a breath Hector continued, "You are to apprehend both Nexus and Kenneth."

"Are they crazy?" Lan asked.

Hector put up a hand to stop Lan's protests, "I realize that Nexus is powerful and Ken is your friend, but you have to do this."

"How do they expect me to do that?" Lan asked, "Ever since I went through my Shaping I have been more sensitive to magic, the power Nexus has is beyond human. And a few weeks ago I felt for the first time what evil truly is, I feel it right now, how do you expect me to defeated him? Even if I have Imminence it does me know good with it bottled up inside me." Lan winced, he wished he hadn't said that.

"Then you know?" Hector asked, "Who told you?"

"Martin." Lan said hesitantly.

Hector nodded, not angry at all, unlike every other Mage that met Martin, "We wouldn't have told you otherwise, by the Magi Council's orders." Hector said overly exaggerated, mocking the Council, "That makes this part easier, but not much." Hector unrolled his right sleeve exposing his surprisingly muscular arm and held it in front of him and runes that were not there before appeared with a bluish glow to them, "This is the key to your seal, the Magi Council has authorized you to apprehend the rouge Mages by _any_ means necessary."

Lan staggered and his outwardly calm appearance was shattered, "They are asking me to kill myself?"

Hector shook his head, "Just a percussion, Nexus needs to be stopped by any means necessary."

"Who told you that? The Council?" Lan began to laugh, "Kill three birds with one stone; I apprehend Ken first without breaking the seal, I then face Nexus with the full power of Imminence hopefully being strong enough to subdue him, and finally _I_ die in the process killing one of the few threats that threatens the Council in power." Lan was lost in himself, laughing hysterically, "They expect me to kill myself?" he said sullenly after his fit of laughter ended.

Walking over to Lan Hector grabbed Lan by the shoulders, "Listen to me, if I had any say in the matter I wouldn't allow you to do such a thing, but it is not my decision. I will not give you this key if you do not want it, no matter what the Council says. I will not condemn my Apprentice, this has to be your decision."

Lost in thought Lan was struggling with himself between living and dying, then Lan had a revelation, _It is a Blue Mage's duty to maintain the peace_. Pushing back Hector and holding out his bare arm Lan said, "I will do it because it is the duty of a Blue Mage, but I swear that I will get even the Council if it is the last thing I do."

Hector nodded, proud of his Pupil for knowing the call of duty, but sadden buy Lan's inevitable fate, "Then let us begin the ritual to transfer the key."

* * *

Heaving with all his might Ty cleaved the Lunar Golem in half, the thing was twice Ty's size and had the same bluish glow the other Lunar Shadows had.

"Well done!" Lupus beamed, "You have exceeded me expectations once again, you have made fine progress this past week."

Ty panted, "Well I would have probably been dead long ago if it wasn't for Tear's help."

"While I admit the human has helped I'm sure you would have been fine without him." Lupus retorted, stubborn blade.

"Ha! Lupus is as proud as he is old!" Tear chuckled, "I think that should be enough for tonight, don't want to wear yourself out now do you? We have battle in the morning." Reaching into his box of _medicine_ Tear tossed Ty a bottle, "Hear, drink this before you go to sleep, you'll be recovered when you wake." Tear stretched, "I think I will take my advice, haven't had much sleep between you and the soldiers." Grabbing his box in one hand and Maria in the other Tear made a brisk walk out of the grotto.

Ty, thankful for the early end of his training, fell backwards onto the soft grass, Lupus still in hand. Staring up at the sky Ty adored the moons hovering in the sky, "Beautiful night." he said to himself. The smaller moon was full and would be for a few nights, those were the nights Ty enjoyed the most, he didn't quite know why.

"It is." Lupus replied, after a pause he spoke again, "You and I are almost completely synced, soon you won't need me, or remember me." Lupus said the last part with a bit of remorse.

"I won't forget you." Ty reassured.

Lupus laughed, "That is what your father said. But before you are through with me I have a few more tricks to show you."

"Like what?" Ty asked curiously.

"Stand." Lupus commanded and Ty obeyed, "If you think I am just a piece of metal for swinging around you would be sorely mistaken. There is a power that runs in you blood that has not yet been tapped, few have unlocked it without my help, and those who could you can count on one hand. I will now unlock that potential." Lupus jerked towards the sky but Ty kept his grip. Lupus began to glow a faint blue and a beam of light cascaded onto Ty from the moon engulfing him, the light seared Ty's bones and shook the core of his being.

Ty collapsed to the ground after the beam of light disappeared dropping Lupus in the process. Wrapping his arms around his middle Ty felt wrong, his bones burned but they did not hurt, he felt no pain but at the same time he felt like he had just been burned, the feeling was comforting but it felt...wrong. "Wha…what did you do…o to m…me?" Ty demanded, his voice jerky and his breath coming short.

Ty felt someone grab him by the shoulders, "Breath Ty, steady you breathing." the man commanded.

Steadying his breathing Ty's breath slowly became more regular until he could breath normally, "What happened to me?" Ty asked with a bit of a shudder in his voice. Looking to the man next to him for some explanation Ty saw that is was his father.

Cyrus helped Ty to his feet holding him steady, "You have unlocked the power of Luna, a power that is know only to our bloodline."

"What is this 'Luna'?" Ty asked still clenching his middle, still feeling the burn in his bones that did not hurt.

Holding out a hand Cyrus demonstrated, his hand burned with a flame that flickered between a pale blue and a pale purple, "It hurts at first, but it will pass. I remember the feeling when I first awakened."

"But what is _it_?" Ty asked not sure if he should cry out in pain or not.

"It's magic my boy." Cyrus replied, "Your body didn't have any magic in it before tonight, but now it does and it will take a little while for your body to accept ."

Ty couldn't take it anymore, he doubled over and screamed, but he did not know if it was in pain or in frustration.

Cyrus grabbed Ty, "It helps if you use the power of Luna, it will make the feeling go away faster. Here let me show you, breath and concentrate on the feeling that you have, now visualize it and release it."

Ty did as instructed and he erupted in the flickering blue purple flame, the burning in his bones lessened.

"That's it, keep doing it." Cyrus encouraged.

Again and again Ty released his pain through Luna until the burning became tolerable. Panting Ty fell to the ground, on his hands and knees Ty noticed something was wrong with the grass. It looked like someone has painted the grass silver but it still felt like normal grass and was just as alive. Ty looked to Cyrus for an explanation.

Cyrus shrugged, "It is what happens, Luna only harms those you wish to harm, but anything that touches Luna turns silver for a time." As if on command the grass faded back to its original color. "Come on, I have something to give you." Cyrus helped Ty to his feet who grabbed Lupus, who had turned back into a dagger, and sheathed him. Cyrus lead Ty to Ty's room were he was surprised to see a set of odd looking armor on a stand. "I wore this when I was younger, since Ace has allowed you and your friends to fight I though you would need some protection."

Ty observed the armor more closely, it was nothing that he had ever seen and now he knew why, the armor was specially designed for a werewolf to accommodate the wearer in both forms. The armor had doubled pauldrons padded with leather that were secured by two leather belts that crossed the chest and attached to the waist belt, the straps went under a chest plate. The belt held metal plates that rested on the hips and a loincloth, Ty immediately decided to wear pants when he saw this, not willing to give up all his modesty. There were shin guards that had layered metal plates and foot protection that would cover the top of the foot while the straps held the ball of the foot. The bracers were just that, leather bracers with a metal plate on them. The armor had straps, where need, that would loosen when the werewolf would turn, to accommodate it's size without breaking the armor.

"It will be a long battle tomorrow, you better get some rest." Cyrus said and left the room.

Ty fell on his bed not even unclothing himself, uncorking the bottle that Tear gave him he downed the contents, tasted like melons. Soon Ty was fast asleep despite the burning he still felt.

* * *

It was a few hours before dawn and Owen was already armoring himself for he was unable to sleep. _I have helped you all I can, it is time to choose your fate._ That is what the Keeper of Fate said to him just a few minutes ago. Owen chuckled to himself, _Ironic how Fate told me to choose my own fate_.

As he finished tying his boots Owen examined himself in the mirror. He wore a leather coat that was woven with mithril chain mail. The coat had a tall collar that he left unbuttoned and the sleeves only went half way down his forearm. The coat was divided from his left shoulder to his right hip, the same was the same for the other side, his stomach would be exposed but was covered with a V of chained coat and there was another V that covered his pelvis. His right shoulder had a double pauldron but not his left. Owen had mithril bracers over leather gauntlets and mithril greaves over his brown pants. Owen wore brown leather boots with an external steel toes and heal. On his head Owen had a plain white headband to keep the sweat out of his eyes.

Smiling at himself Owen belted his sword and walked to the castle's garden to wait until dawn. Wandering aimlessly Owen found himself at his mother's grave, hesitating he walked through the archway to pay his respects. To his surprise Chad was kneeling in front of the headstone.

"You came to pay your respects too?" Chad asked without turning.

Owen walked in scratching his head, "Yeah." Chad rose as Owen got near and turned and walked past Owen.

Chad wore a black coat that went past his knees and black knee high boots and pants. The coat concealed most of Chad's armor, but what was visible was the cestuses that he wore on either hand and the mithril cuirass that was worn under the coat. The coat bulged in the shoulders suggesting that there were pauldrons were underneath. The coat was trimmed with silver around the cuffs and the center divide.

"Where are you going?" Owen asked.

Chad continued walking, "To prepare."

"Why do you always have to be like that?" Owen demanded.

Stopping in his tracks Chad cast a glance towards Owen, "What do you mean?"

"You are always going off somewhere by yourself with little to no explanation." Owen stated, "You barely talk to anyone and whenever you do it is always cryptic or without reason. What are you hiding from."

Chad stiffened, "Who said I was hiding, I'm running."

"Running?" Owen parroted, "Running from what?"

Chad shook his head and turned to face Owen, "Who said I was running from anything?"

Owen threw up his hands in frustration, "There you go again with the cryptic message. Why are you running?" Owen clarified.

Chad walked up to Owen a pointed a finger at him, "I am running to the point were you and I," Chad pointed to himself, "are at the same time."

"What does that mean?" Owen asked.

Chad rubbed his eyes, "How much can I explain to you?" he asked himself, "Your past is my present and my past is your future. I know that doesn't make much sense, but neither did you when I asked you the same thing." cutting Owen off before he could ask anything Chad continued, "Please it is complicated enough _not _trying to explain it to you, the reason why I am so secluded is because you are not the Owen I know."

"Excuse me?" Owen demanded.

"Not in the sense that you are not you but that you are not the you I came to know on Earth." Chad tried to explain.

Waving his hands Owen stopped Chad, "Stop, forget I asked. You are out of sync with my timeline, fine. You could have said that in the first place."

Chad nodded, "You explained it better to me than I could to you."

"But tell me one thing." Owen stared, "What happens to you if we don't win this fight?" Chad gave Owen a questioning look, "What I mean is that your present here is dependent on our victory against Nexus, so what happens if we loose and I never go to Earth and get you here? Unless we win and your just not telling me."

Chad thought long and hard and finally came to a conclusion, not so much a conclusion but remembering what he was told, "Then I will fade and be erased form this timeline, time _can _be rewritten, and if we loose tomorrow then I will have never existed in this timeline and time will unravel to the point where this all started and repair itself."

"That's impossible." Owen protested, "That would destroy the universe."

Chad shook his head, "Just the universe of this timeline. There would be another one to take this one's place, one that was not effected by this whole mess."

"I find that hard to believe." Owen replied optimistically.

Chad shrugged, "No matter how good or bad something is it happens for a reason." pulling up his hood Chad turned and walked away.

Owen shook his head and knelt down at his mother's grave to pay his respects. After a few minutes Owen started wandering the gardens again, until he got board and then wandered the castle. Loosing his sense of time Owen was surprised to see the sun starting its assent sooner than he thought. Stretching his arms Owen stood up from his perch on the castle roof and walked to the corner of the castle where Jas's room was. Taking a deep breath Owen held his arms out from his sides and leaned fully off the edge of the roof. Concentrating he forced the welled up light inside himself outwards through a window as he passed it and found himself standing inside Jas's room after the world around him blurred. Taking a quick look around the room Owen walked over to Jas to wake her up early like she asked. Jas was laying on her left side, her back towards Owen, in her nightgown with her right arm over the covers.

Owen raised a hand to give Jas a shake but paused as he looked at the scares on Jas's arm. Going against his better judgment he gently grabbed her arm, in a way that he would not wake her, and extended his power into Jas's arm trying to heal the scares. The scares felt…_unclean_…to Owen, something felt wrong about them, maybe scare tissue felt different than normal tissue. Owen shook his head, _That which is healed cannot be healed_. That is what Ace had told him.

Gabbing Jas on the shoulder he gave Jas a gentle shake, "Jas, its time to wake up."

Stirring from her sleep Jas turned to face Owen and rubbed her eyes, "Morning. I didn't even hear you come in."

"Doors are overrated." Owen corrected.

Yawning Jas asked, "So are you ready?"

Owen looked away and shook his head, "I don't know, maybe dad was right in not letting us fight. Like he said, we are just kids when it comes to things like this."

"You don't have to fight if you don't want to, nobody will think less of you if you." Jas said stretching her arms.

"But I have to fight." Owen protested.

"I know that." Jas agreed.

"Why are you fighting?" Owen asked after Jas had made her bed.

Pausing Jas though for a moment but couldn't find anything that really compelled her to fight, "I don't know, I guess because it is the right thing. Why?"

"I…I was just wondering that's all." Owen replied.

"Are you worried about me?" Jas asked walking over into her small bathroom closing the door.

"Yeah." Owen replied reluctantly, "I don't want you to get hurt is all."

Owen could see Jas's silhouette though the frosted glass door, she took off her night gown and Owen blushed and turned so his back was towards Jas, "I'll be fine." she answered after a pause, "If I get in any trouble I will just run."

"I just don't want you to get hurt." Owe repeated.

"Don't worry about me." Jas insisted, "Hey could you go and pick up the daggers I asked Sven to make?"

Standing Owen nodded, "Sure, I can do that."

"I'll be waiting." Jas replied.

* * *

Bringing her arm forward Kim snapped her wrist and the knife she was holding flew across the room tumbling end over end until it buried into the head of the stationary dummy that she had set up. _Dead_, Kim thought grimly, how easy it was for Kim to regain most of her abilities, how easy it was for her now to kill. Kim came out of her trance to the sound of clapping. Turning around Kim saw Kristin leaning against the wall.

"Well done." Kristin applauded, "You have rediscovered much in the past week."

Kim looked at her flexing hand, "I still don't feel comfortable about it. I mean, I actually wanted to kill when I joined the Assassins, now I don't think I could bring myself to it."

"That is good." Answered Kristin, "Life is the greatest gift anyone has ever received, showing someone how precious life it, that is an even greater gift. Life over death, that is what I like to think."

Kim smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I'm glad I learned that before I killed someone, I think." Kim added darkly.

Kristin waved her hand to dismiss the thought, "You didn't, that I can assure you."

"Good." Kim sighed, "I am glad I got out of there when I could."

Kristin nodded, "You have a very special gift Kim." Kim gave Kristin a questioning look, "Mercy!" Kristin said laughing at the obvious, "Mercy is the greatest power of all."

"What about love?" Kim asked.

"Especially love." Kristin laughed.

After a pause Kim asked, "So are you going to tell me how I didn't die?"

Kristin rubbed her chin and looked at Kim the way someone would appraise an item. A smile started to crease her face and she replied, "Yes."

"Really?" Kim asked excitedly thrown off by the unexpected answer.

"Yes, I think your ready. Do you still have the ring I gave you?" Kristin asked.

Pulling the ring out of her pocket Kim held it out for Kristin to see, "I take it everywhere.""That is good, probably why you survived in the first place." Kristin said, "Like I told you before, that ring was given to me by the Queen of the Elves of my time. It has a very special enchantment on it and I hold it very dear to me, but it is yours now, to keep. Any who wears the ring on their left middle finger and who hold the lives of others, even their enemies, above their all else will have their life spared in turn."

"But I don't remember wearing the ring that night." Kim protested.

"That is what makes you special, you value life so much that you activated the rings magic even though you weren't wearing it." Kristin said, Kim started to smile at the prospect of cheating death, "Now, of course, there are rules and limitations." Kim's smile faded a little, "The ring can only be used five times a day, cannot save you from natural deaths; drowning, age, freezing, etcetera, it can however save you from poisons and any attempt on your life by mortals. The ring will not work if you lose your value of life, try to take your life, risk your life recklessly, or on the solstice."

"Why the solstice?" Kim asked.

Kristin shrugged, "The elves have a thing for the solstice, they never fight on the solstice so they made the ring exclude those two days of the year. They said it was a waste of magic when I inquired about it."

Looking at the ring Kim asked, "So how is it activated?"

"It is activated when you would normally die or be inflicted with an injury that would jeopardize your life, it is a little finicky when it comes down to it but it is more or less reliable." Kristin answered.

"More or less?" Kim asked unsure.

Nodding Kristin repeated, "More or less, it will keep you from dying, but it draws on the users strength and if there is not enough strength to draw off of the ring won't work. What kind of ring that is suppose to protect your life be if it endangered your life when you use it? Just be sure that you don't accidentally use it immediately after you used it, draws more strength when it does that."

"You sure you want to give up such an item?" Kim asked.

Kristin laughed, "Please, I will manage." taking off one of her gloves Kristin revealed a ring on each finger, each elaborately crafted and unique in their own way, "And that is only one hand, and I have about three times more rings than fingers."

Kim's jaw dropped, "That is a lot of rings."

"I had more, but I doubt I will find them easily since so much time has pasted. They are probably in some stuffy Mages private collection by now, well at least I have my pendant." Kristin said to herself.

"And what does that do?" Kim asked.

Kristin pulled out a golden pendant on a gold chain and smiled fondly at it, "It reminds me how precious life is."

Kim looked at the ring that Kristin gave her and took off her glove and put it on her left middle finger, admiring it, before she put her glove back on, "Thank you Kristin, I will treasure it always."

* * *

Struggling into his armor Spyro wondered how the other dragons managed to get into their armor. Unfortunately this was not the armor Spyro had found during his and Cynder's quest to defeat Malefor, that armor was lost when Spyro stabilized the planet. Lucky for him Ace had a new set of armor made for him and Cynder.

Spyro's armor was gold and covered more than the his previous armor sets. Spyro still had his helmet that formed to his spines and his bracers, though they covered more of his legs now. He also had a cuirass that covers his chest and belly that were layered like the scales on his underside. His tail was now full armored from base to tip forming around his spines. A new addition was the greaves that covered the upper part of his hind legs. Spyro had little armor on his back so that his wings could still move without any restriction. The armor has a crest on the center chest piece and between the brow of the helm of the symbol of the four common elements; fire, electricity, ice, and earth each engraved in their respected color. Looking himself over, Spyro thought the armor looked rugged with its sharp edges and sheen. Just managing to get the armor on was an accomplishment seeing how Spyro lacked thumbs and had to tighten the straps with his teeth and contort his body in awkward positions.

Hearing a knock at the door Spyro answered, "Come in."

After fumbling with the door knob Cynder came strolling in clad in silver armor, unlike Spyro's rough armor Cynder's was smooth and elegant. Her armor followed the same general concept as Spyro's armor, but Cynder's armor looked like it was a part of her instead of on her. On the forehead of the helm and before the base of the tail bore Cynder's unique scale markings.

"How do I look?" Cynder asked.

"Amazing." Spyro said and puffed out his chest, "How about me?"

Cynder walked around him laughing, "Your armor is a bit loose."

"Well how do you expect me to get it tight? I can't twist my body enough to do, hey what are you doing?" Spyro asked as Cynder jumped on his back.

"Helping, the last thing you need is for your armor to fall off." Cynder said grabbing the straps with her claws and pulling as tight as she could, "Surprised they would leave it this loose."

"They?" Spyro asked flat on his belly.

"Yeah didn't someone help you?" Cynder asked working her way down Spyro's back.

Shaking his head Spyro replied, "No, I did this all myself, it is not as easy to get on as our previous armor."

Laughing Cynder agreed, "While that is true I'm surprised you got this far."

"So I take it someone helped you into your armor?" Spyro asked.

"Yeah, one of the maids." Cynder replied tightening Spyro's tail armor. "There that should do it, come one it is almost time."

Spyro flexed and rolled his shoulders feeling out the armor, it felt much better, "Thanks, yeah lets go."

"Do you think the Elders will join the fight?" Cynder asked leading the way down the hall.

"I would think so, they are among the strongest of the four elements." Spyro answered.

"It's just that they are so old." Cynder whispered.

"Who is old?" Ignitus asked from behind Spyro and Cynder.

Cynder turned on the spot and started to apologized, "I'm sorry, I wouldn't have said anything if I had known…"

"It is alright," Ignitus chuckled, "I am getting old, but I still have a few fights left in me. I see you two are ready then."

"We are." Spyro said determinately, "But what about you?"

"I will be alright young dragon, just worry about yourselves." Ignitus reassured, "This threat might not be Malefor but it is no less deadly."

"And evil." Spyro added.

"I doubt anyone could be as evil as Malefor." Cynder said defiantly.

Nodding Ignitus agreed, "Still this is no matter to be taken lightly. We know very little about this new enemy, and what we do know is not good."

"So what is the plan then?" Spyro asked.

"Keep the tower away from the city at all costs." Ignitus said a-matter-of-factly, "We will try to force it into one of the pitfall traps, the army is the secondary objective."

"You don't sound so sure about this plan Ignitus." Cynder observed.

Ignitus shook his head, "No I am not."

"What would you do then?" Spyro asked.

"I would evacuate the city, Ace has moved all civilians into the inner hold of the city but that will be little protection if the tower activates. I would have planed a precise joint attack on the tower from all sides from the dragons while the soldiers distract the army. I would then have the Mages seal the tower to forsaken or dead world where Nexus would be trapped until the end of time." Ignitus said obviously putting much thought into an alternative.

"We tried that," Was heard form behind Ignitus, "and the planet ended up flourishing and Nexus broke free anyways." Vladimir stood holding his helmet in one hand and his shield in the other.

"And it is still a better plan than this one." Ignitus rebutted.

Vladimir put his helmet on his head, "No, there is only one way to end this, and today I will drive my blade through Nexus's cold heart if I must, but he will not live to see another day. What we did back in my time was irresponsible, we will not make that mistake again."

"You would risk the lives of thousands for the death of one man." Ignitus asked.

Shaking he head Vladimir said, "No, not a man, a demon if I ever saw one. I realize your concern Guardian of Fire, but this has to end. Nexus's end had been delayed for far to long. Come, it is time for war."

* * *

**Just a note of concern I want to address to some fellow readers: While the new Spyro game has been released I will not by any means go out of my way to try and accommodate it into my story. I don't know if said readers were serious or not but now you have my answer. While I am not a fan of the new Spyro reboot I am by no means a hater. The new series is aimed for a younger audience and I for one am perfectly ok with that. Everything runs in fads and Activision is just trying to get more people on the Spyro bandwagon, the more fans we get the more games we get. While I am not crazy about the whole destruction of the fourth wall and the complete redesign of Spyro I can't say I care because to me this new Spyro is not my Spyro, the Spyro I have come to know and love. The way I see it, the more money Activision gets out of Skylanders the quicker they will get this series over with and get back to the mature audience, and if Skylanders turn out to be a bust well then they will move on to a new series of Spyro. Who knows they might even continue The Legend of Spyro series or revive an old one. Regardless I am sure Activision has something planed for the mature Spyro fans, we just have to be patient. I know I am talking about a touchy subject and I would just like to say to the Skylanders fans and haters to leave me out of the debate of how good/bad Skylanders is for I am neutral on the subject.**

**That aside, things will start heating up for our heroes.**


	45. Chapter 45

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 45: This is War**

Standing idly Evan felt a little lopsided with Undivver hanging on his side, but it did feel good to have a hammer again. Looking around at his friends and the soldiers, Evan realized he was wearing the least amount of armor, well aside from the mages, but they had magic on their side, but then so did Evan. Although he really didn't need any armor Evan still managed to find a steel chest plate and a pair of boots. The collar of the chest plate was lined with fur and had a pair of fur pauldrons attached to it. The top of the boots were rimmed with fur and Evan's bracers were little more than fur covering his forearms. Kim said that Evan looked like a wolf with his tuffs of fur.

Speaking of which, Kim wore brown leather armor that was provided by the Thieves. There was nothing that special about the armor aside from the metal plates that were hidden in the armor to provide more protection and the numerous daggers that Kim had hidden on her person. How she managed to hide the daggers without having them stab her was beyond Evan, even more so was how Kim was able to make it look like she had not a blade on her.

Jas also had leather armor, except hers was black instead of brown. As far as Evan knew Jas had barely more protection than him, that is if Evan's armor was worth a damn on him. She was inspecting her daggers that Evan had made for her, Sven was suppose to make them but he was busy enough with repairing and making new armor and weapons for the army. Evan was proud of his craftsmanship, but he would never tell anyone what he made, except Undivver, Evan would flaunt that off as much as he could. Unlike Kim Jas wore her daggers in the open, not even trying to hide them, not that she had to.

Looking over to Spyro and Cynder Evan awed at their armor, the work of a master craftsman. Sven had put several weeks into both sets of armor, although Evan wanted to help in the project Sven refused saying that Evan knew nothing about dragon anatomy. Now looking at the splendor of the finished product Evan couldn't agree more, the armor wasn't just worn by them, it was apart of them. Taking pride in his master's work Evan couldn't wait until he forged such a fine item on his own without the help of others. Sure Undivver was a magnificent weapon, but he did have help and that took some of the glory out of it, but the forging of the hammer was all Evan's doing. Although he did use the tools Lan had made for him, and the engravings were done by Sven.

Lan was acting a bit weird all morning, he held his right arm and was clenching and unclenching his right hand and had a distant look to him. He would barely talk to anyone and when he did he would only answer in one or two words. Evan shrugged and figured the pressure of coming battle was finally having its effects on Lan. Alexis was the only one Lan would talk to and even then it was in the same short response.

Ty was acting a bit odd too, and Evan didn't think it was Ty's revealing armor that was Ty's problem, even though he wore pants. Ty kept clenching his stomach and looked like he was in pain, when Evan and others asked Ty about it he just shook his head. Probably nausea, Evan wouldn't be surprised, despite bring a werewolf Ty was a bit soft.

Out of all of his friends Owen and Chad were the calmest about the coming battle. Owen, for one, was optimistic about the battle, he kept saying how nobody was going to die today. While that was a complete impossibility Evan welcomed Owen's bright attitude in this time of doom and gloom. Chad was a bit harder to read for Evan, but he guessed that Chad wasn't worried about the battle since he had started talking a bit more than usual. Chad seemed sure of himself, although he had a dead man walking attitude about what was going to come, at least he was realistic about it.

The order was given to move out and so began the long march to the designated battlefield. During the march the group of friends stayed close together finding comfort in each others company. Ty broke the silence with an odd question, "What does magic feel like?"

"What?" Evan asked confused by the random question.

Owen responded first, "Like cold fire, both burning and freezing you at the same time but neither burning or freezing you, I think it is quite refreshing."

"No," Chad corrected, "it feels like something hovering over you but you can't see what it is no matter how hard you try, but the feeling is comforting, like something, or someone, is guarding you. It wraps you in it's embrace and hold you tight while it protects you, a shroud."

"It feels like a river flowing into you, the more the water flows the warmer you feel and the harsher the current the more rejuvenated you feel. It is kind of like sitting under a warm waterfall or in a hot spring with a current to it." Lan said saying his first full sentence of the day.

Alexis agreed, "It feels like a great warm bath."

"It all feels a bit different; fire is warm, ice is cold, electricity is tingly, earth is hard." Spyro laughed, "I guess that doesn't help much, but each element feels different."

Cynder nodded, "Yup, for me; fear is hypnotic, poison is slick, wind is gentle, and shadow…well I can't even begin to describe the feeling."

"While my power is not magic," Jas began, "I feel like I am opening myself to something greater, like I am achieving my full potential. What about you Evan?"

Evan shook his head, "I don't have a special power like the rest of you."

"But you do have that unique enchantment on you." Alexis corrected.

Thinking for a bit Evan shrugged, "Heavy I guess, but not so much anymore. I guess I feel strong, but that is a broad term. Bah! I don't know! Why do you even want to know what magic feels like anyways?" Evan asked Ty.

"I wanted to know if it hurt." Ty answered fighting his own pain.

After a unanimous "No." Cynder asked, "Why would you think it hurts?"

"Because he is in pain," Lan answered, "Ty was not naturally born with magic, but now he has it. I would like to know how that came about but now is not the time."

Ty bit his lip as Kim badgered him for an answer, "We are apart of a bloodline Kim, we have magic in our blood that we can't access on our own. Father told me, I accidentally awakened it while training last night and now it feels like my bones are burning."

"Lucky." Kim pouted, "I wish I could use magic."

Ty shook his head, "The pain is to great, you would be better off without it."

"Give it a week." Lan said detached from the world.

"I don't have a week, I only have a few hours." Ty barked back.

"As do I." Lan said remorsefully. Alexis put an arm on his shoulder and Lan smiled back grateful for the comfort. Lan kept flexing his held hand the entire time.

* * *

Ace had stopped the army a mile away from Nexus's hoard, "Men and women of Lux lucis!" Ace boomed from his seat on his horse in his dazzling gold and silver armor, _It is now or never_, he thought, "You stand here today in defense of all the realm. If we do not stop this threat now it will surly spread and grow in power. I will not lie, some of you will die, but you die protecting your brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, friends and family. There are no words that I can say that will make what we are about to face any less horrifying, but what I can say is that I expect no heroics this day. Protect your bother or sister in arms at your side and they will protect you, we either fight together or die alone. This day will be sing for generations to come, the day when the mighty warriors defeated the undead hoard of the vial necromancer Nexus." The army erupted in a roar.

Not more than a few hundred feet away The Pack Mother was making a similar speech, "Children. We fight today next to our allies for the salvation of the Pack, and for the head of the evil that taints this land. Those who die today will be remembered by their children and their children's children with the knowledge that you gave your life for the greater good of the Pack. Today we make our mark on the world as a people, and not animals." The Pack erupted into howls of glory.

Looking at each other the Pack Mother and Ace smiled at the loyalty of their joined armies. Both of them raised a hand the army quieted down so Vladimir could speak. Behind Vlad; Martin was on his black and Blue Griffin Noctus, Tear on his green and sage Griffin Hammer, Miranda on her orange and crimson Griffin Myra, and Kristin on her tan and Brown Griffin Jak. Vladimir, proudly on the back of his golden Griffin, and dear friend, Dawn Star, announced as loud as he could, "Remember your role and stay in your troop, follow the chain of command when it come to orders, and do not give up! Never give up! If we fail here there is no second chances, this is an all or nothing plan." Vladimir smiled mischievously, "There is no reinforcements coming to aid us, but looking at this pitiful lot that stands before me I am starting to second guess myself." Scattered shouts of anger dotted the army, "What is that? You think I am wrong?" More shouts echoed the army, "I find that hard to believe looking at your sorry faces." The entire army was in an uproar, "Then prove me wrong you sorry sods and fight to your dying breath and never, never!" Vladimir shouted quieting the army, "Never abandon your brothers in arms, like the King said, 'We fight together or die alone'." Vladimir paused a minute to let his words settle in, "Now lets go slay us a necromancer." The army erupted in shouts and cheers.

"Why did he insult the army?" Spyro asked, though it was more of a shout since he had to be heard over the army's yells, "I thought that they were going to turn on Vladimir for a moment."

Owen was one of the few that heard Spyro, "What better way to motivate an army than to get them angry?"

"It seems stupid to me." Spyro replied.

"But do the soldiers look like they are afraid anymore?" Owen asked rhetorically.

A group of mages approached the friends and motioned for Lan to join them. Lan looked towards Alexis who nodded sadly, "We have to go." was Lan's only explanation when the others questioned him. Deep down Lan wanted to run to save himself, but his sense of duty was stronger and he walked towards the mages, one more closer step to his end.

* * *

"Enough!" The Watcher of Fate declared, "I will hear no more!"

The embodiments of Fate and Destiny were gathered in the grey expanse of nothingness were they had council.

"I agree," The Keeper of Fate agreed, "this bickering has gone on long enough, let us see the fruits of our labors."

"You mean your labors!" The Watcher declared, "You have overstepped your bounds." The Watcher of Fate pointed a deadly finger his Keeper brother.

The Keeper of Fate smiled, "Oh? I was granted permission to deal with Owen, and so I have."

"I agree with bother Watcher, you have gone to far." The Watcher of Destiny said.

"But brother Keeper is within his right." The Meddler of Destiny protested,

The Keeper of Fate stood up, "As I recall you all agreed to giving me unlimited access to influence Owen."

"That was only to get his memory back and you know it!" The Watcher of Destiny exclaimed.

The Meddler of Fate, with his feet on the table, laughed, "In all fairness, we didn't exactly limit brother Keeper's influence over the boy. We merely said to have him deal with the boy, and dealing with him he has. My only regret is that it wasn't me who was doing the influencing."

"I doubt it will help the nave much anyways." The Watcher of Fate declared.

"What is that suppose to mean?" The Keeper of Fate asked suspiciously.

The Watcher gave a sinister smile, "The subconscious is easier to manipulate than the conscious."

"What have you done?" The Keeper demanded.

"Nothing that couldn't be prevented. You put to much faith into Fate." The Watcher said menacingly.

"I swear that if you have done anything to harm Owen I will…" The Keeper began.

"Enough!" The Keeper of Destiny shouted, "This is not the time for fighting amongst ourselves, the wheel of time ceases for no one. The war has begun."

Taking their seats around the table the manifestations of Fate and Destiny grabbed each others hands and their eyes glowed white, giving off no light but showing where their eyes were. They waited and watched as the events of mortals unfolded before them.

* * *

The undead army was no more than a thousand feet away from the living army. Owen started to get butterflies in his stomach, lead butterflies. He was distraught by the thought of war but excited by the outcome, _"Not a soul will die today, that _I _can promise you."_ That is what the note that he read a few hours ago from Owen's future self had said. Despite all the impossibility the note promised, Owen couldn't help himself from believing the impossibility. Owen also remembered the note he had read so long ago, _"We will meet even though if you don't know it is me, expect me when the sun is setting, the moon is crimson red with blood, and all hope is lost."_ The last bit unsettled Owen.

"Charge!" the order was given, the war has begun.

Feeling a rush of excitement Owen let out a yell as he ran with the army towards their foes. The closer they got to the undead the darker the sky became. Sword in hand Owen looked around him to see his friends behind him as they took the lead of the army. Not to far away was Lan and Alexis with the band of Mages. Above Spyro and Cynder were at the lead of the dragon flock already beginning the attack with their magical breaths. Smiling to himself Owen let out another yell as he raised his sword, in front of him he could see the decay in the eyes of his enemy.

For a split second time appeared to stop for Owen.

_"Remember what you see here before you for it is your destiny to be where you see yourself now. To lead these people in battle against the forces of darkness." _Owen heard a female voice say.

Then he heard a man's voice, _"Your fate at the end of the battle will be decided on the choices you make in the present and the near future. In one you die in the other you live, choose carefully."_

Owen's sense of time returned to normal as he hacked through an undead torso. Charging into another enemy Owen was disturbed by what he had just heard, _That is what They said in my dreams on Earth! Right before I got sent to this world._ Owen nodded to himself and lit his sword ablaze with light as he cut through the armored zombies.

Jas had her five daggers levitating in odd orbits around her and one dagger in each hand. Her psychokinetic powers have improved greatly and each dagger lashed out, independent form the others, aiming to destroy any foe in her way. The daggers were sharp, made from an expert blacksmith, and they would not fail her. Any undead that got close enough to deliver a blow to Jas did not last long for her reflexes have been honed and enhanced by unlocking the potential of her body through her mind and she quickly struck them down with super human speed. Jas had to be careful not to surpass her physical limit otherwise she could actually damage her body. With her bladed orb of protection Jas was literally running through the hoard and only raising a hand when she needed. The undead mind confused Jas, it gave off a presence that she could sense but it was like the mind was not all there. She carefully monitored everyone around her, making sure that she could aid someone in need if that time came.

With two daggers that curved back in each hand, Kim precisely cut and stabbed the undead soldiers. With lightning reflexes she made sure that when she struck the undead would not rise again. Dancing around her enemies Kim bypassed any defense the zombies had, although Kim concentrated more on covering the others near her, quickly filling a hole in an inexperienced or careless soldier's defense and exploiting those that others made for her. She was truly a lethal creature on the battle field and any attack that would maim someone not of Kim's skill would simply graze her skin. Kim had no remorse eliminating the undead before her, their life was unnatural and an insult to those who lived. With a flourish of her hand a dagger freed itself from the inside Kim's sleeve and straight into a zombies head. The soldier who Kim just saved gave her a thankful nod before returning to the fight.

To some it might have seemed that Evan was swinging Undivver haphazardly, but in actuality he had the training that gave him the skill with such a weapon that allowed him to manipulate the path of the hammer with a twist of his wrist. Lucky for the soldiers that he did have the training needed otherwise they might be on the receiving end of Evan's blows by accident. Although Evan was not concerned with getting hit with weapons he was more worried about getting hit with magic. Thankfully he had the magical belt buckle that made him resistant to magic, to bad it drained his stamina when it was activated. One of the soldiers next to Evan fell backwards and was going to be killed by an undead. Reacting, Evan stuck out his arm to block the blade which struck his arm with a resounding ring, Evan's arm was unscathed. The soldier on the ground grabbed his sword and stabbed the undead backing it up while Evan bashed it's head in, with his fist. Offering a hand to the soldier, the soldier opened his mouth in warning, but it was to late, an axe found it's mark on the back of Evan's neck. Unfortunately for the undead the axe didn't have the effect it thought it would, Evan turned and swung his hammer in an uppercut and tore off the upper half of the zombie. Offering his hand again Evan hoisted the solider to his feet and searched for another undead to destroy.

The burning numbed his body and fueled his battle lust, Ty however maintained his focus. He held Lupus who shown brilliant silver while engulfed in the flickering pale blue flame of Luna. Guiding Ty through the use of Luna Lupus had to make sure the boy would not tire himself out. Ty cut though the undead with no resistance from their armor, leaving a silver mark where Lupus struck. Giving a roar Ty launched himself into a dance of deadly steal that cut through his foes. Looking to the sky Ty saw the faint outlines of the two moons, they were a bit more defined against the darkened sky. A wicked smile split Ty's face as he turned his attention back to the battle, the moons gave him strength and he relished in the power. Hesitating Ty wondered what came over him, this mad creature that was fighting was not him. Taking in deep breaths Ty brought himself back under control and once again became the disciplined warrior Tear created. Something was odd about the moons though, never before has Ty been more frenzied by the sight of them before, something was most definitely wrong.

Twirling his staff in his hands and around his body Lan was deflecting and attacking at the same time. No martial weapon could harm his staff and Lan was resigned from using magic for the moment, he needed all his power later. Setting his sights on the tower Lan could feel a surge of power approaching from the direction of the tower. Averting his attention back to the undead horde Lan grew tired of his parrying of swords and spears. Reaching for his source of magic Lan raising his staff and shouted, "Exanimus bombus!" and slammed the but of the staff to the ground. A shockwave emanated from Lan's staff outward for about a hundred feet shattering all the undead in the proximity but not affecting the living in any way. Lan felt the effect of the spell immediately and staggered a bit before catching himself with his staff. The soldiers looked around for an answer for what just happened, Lan would not give them one. Panting, Lan looked to his mage comrades, he knew them and they knew him, they were his friends and the looked at him concerned. Their look spoke to him, _You don't have to do this._ they pleaded. Lan shot them a remorseful but determined look, _I have to_. They all nodded and formed up around him, together they made their way to the tower and Lan felt the power approaching even stronger than before. All the while Alexis stayed by Lan's side, and she would until the bitter end.

From his high horse Ace launched a volley or arrows made of light. It was an ancient technique developed long ago that converted light into something solid, it was hard to master and even harder to control. However this had a positive effect for Ace's particular application of the technique, since the arrows of light were unstable they would explode on impact with the undead target. With a frown of concentration on his face Ace maintained the arrow's stability until he let it fly, his aim was true and saved many men and women this day. A shiver ran up Ace's spine and he looked towards the sky to see a large orb of dark energy. "Nexus." Ace swore remembering his last encounter with the man. Aiming up the shot Ace let several arrows of light fly before the first dozen even hit their mark. The orb was hit with the full brunt of Ace's attack but it was not damaged in any way, any apparent way. Pulling a diamond tipped arrow from his quiver Ace poured Light into the arrow head and knocked it. Aiming the arrow at Nexus Ace let the arrow fly, the arrow disappeared in a flash of light as it streaked across the sky and hit the orb shattering the orb and sending the body of a pale man falling to the ground. Ace rode to where Nexus fell to face him and end this once and for all.

Moving as silently as a shadow Chad picked his way through the war, only attacking when someone would have died from an undead attack, and dodging fights entirely if he could help it. His sword, Tenebrae, darkness, was now complete. No longer did it have the motorcycle brake handle for a grip, but a true grip and hilt that it once had before it was damaged. Tenebrae hummed in Chad's hands feeling the power of it's master coursing through it. Looking towards the sky Chad saw the dark orb shatter and he quickened his pace to the thing that fell out of it. Chad was frightened by what was soon going to happen, and suddenly the lump of metal that he carried in his coat from Earth felt suddenly heavy. _For once I hope your wrong_. Chad thought to himself.

Spyro and Cynder committed themselves to bombing runs taking out as many undead as they could from the sky and dropping to the ground only when the ground forces needed assistance. Approaching the main battle were lumbering undead giants that were sewn together from the bodies from several dozen victims having no rhyme or reason to them.

"Lets get them!" Spyro said diving towards the giants.

"Right behind you!" Cynder replied as she followed.

The giants were not as large as a golem but still stood several dozen or so feet above a normal man. Despite their immense size they were not at all fast and it was easy for Spyro and Cynder to dodge their lumbering attacks. Aiming herself at the first giant Cynder dove towards it and cloaked herself with shadow as she passed cutting off the giants arms, its only defense. Spyro launched a breath of ice freezing the abomination were it sands before encasing himself in a spiked stone sphere and shattered the undead thing. Picking off a few of the smaller zombies before taking to the sky Spyro and Cynder combined their powers of fire and wind creating a flaming tornado that tore into the ranks of the undead army. A line of light split the sky and hit a dark orb shattering it.

"That's our signal!" Cynder shouted.

Nodding Spyro led the way, "To the tower!"

Before turning to head to their destination Spyro and Cynder saw the Griffin Guard swarming to their target, Nexus.

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**Thanks for reading. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with the steady stream of chapters but, as some of you may know, there are a frack ton of games coming out this fall, of which I plan on playing several. Not to mention the holidays are coming up which means more test and more time studying which also means less time for me writing. I will try my best to keep up but, as many of you may know, I am notorious for spontaneously disappearing for weeks if not months at a time around the holidays. Well I am almost done with this story so I might just feel ambitious and finish it while I have just a little left to do. Hears hoping to that, I really want to finish this up.**


	46. Chapter 46

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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**Chapter 46: The Old Heroes**

Walking through his army Nexus paid no mind to the fighting around him, he wasn't one bit angry that his defenses were destroyed, to the contrary, he couldn't wait to add another kings head to his collection. But Nexus could hunt later, right now he wanted revenge, and he would get it. A sinister smile came across his face when his eyes came across the Pack Mother, "Hello sister dear." Nexus greeted with venom on every word.

"Nexus." The Pack mother spit locking eyes with her brother.

Holding out a hand Nexus beckoned the Pack Mother, "Give me the amulet _Sidney_, little girls shouldn't play with magic now."

"You should also know, _Ervin_, that big sisters protect little brothers from things that will get them hurt." The Pack Mother retorted.

Nexus laughed maniacally, "Oh how that name stirs him so! Too bad he can't even hear you. I dealt with Ervin long ago, he is dead Sidney, and I relish in the memory of it." Nexus taunted, "Now give me the amulet and I will make _your_ death merciful."

Fists clenched so hard that her nails drew blood, a fire burned in the Pack Mother's eyes, a fire that hasn't shown for a very long time, "You took my brother, I will not let you take my children."

The smile faded from Nexus's face, "So be it." Nexus took a menacing step towards the Pack Mother.

With inhuman strength and agility the Pack Mother leapt backwards and clenched the Lunar amulet, "Forgive me Ervin." she whispered to herself. For the first time in thousands of years the Pack Mother took on her true form. Her body grew and she hunched over as she took on the semblance of a while wolf. The furs she wore were torn off of her as her body grew, but her body sprouted white hair replacing her furs. Eventually The Pack Mother was a white wolf that towered over any mortal man, and even the undead giants. Around her neck was the Lunar amulet, the chain had grown by some magical means so it wouldn't break or strangle The Pack Mother. The werewolves of the Pack howled with glee while the soldiers stood horrified only to be brought back to reality by the imminent threat of the war. With a growl the Pack Mother started down Nexus.

With a laugh Nexus shouted, "Well let me have it then!"

The Pack Mother charged at Nexus with supernatural speed, surprising for her large form, and both armies made way for her. With a hollow thud she kicked Nexus as she passed by, Nexus blocked with both arms and skidded back several feet. Rounding her run the Pack Mother leapt at Nexus and crushed him into the ground.

Crawling out from his hole unscathed Nexus taunted the Pack Mother, "I expected more, you would think that the shepherd of all the werewolves would be a bit stronger!"

Rage enveloped the Pack Mother and she charged Nexus mouth agape. Preparing for the attack Nexus raised his hands and caught the Pack Mother's open maw. Muscles flexing, Nexus heaved with all his might and raised the massive wolf over him and slammed her down on his other side. The wind rushed from the Pack Mother's lungs leaving her breathless. Releasing the stunned wolf's maw Nexus walked over to the amulet that was around the wolf's neck and ripped it off, breaking the chain. The wolf howled as it turned back into the Pack Mother's human form and the howl became a scream of rage, where the Pack Mother found the breath was beyond Nexus. She charged at Nexus stark naked with her flowing white hair behind her. Her hands came around Nexus's throat and she squeezed with all her might. Nexus had the true look of horror on his face as he gasped and struggled for breath but still held onto the medallion. There was a loud crack and Nexus went limp, releasing her grip, The Pack Mother fell to the ground with Nexus.

"Rest in peace Ervin." She said remorsefully. That is when she felt the blade in her stomach. Not realizing what happen she looked up to see Nexus holding a wicked sword made out of bone that stuck out of her midsection. Horror and grief was plainly shown on her face.

Laughing Nexus asked rhetorically, his neck hanging limp, "You really think that you could kill me?" Cracking his neck Nexus realigned his head, "I am no mere mortal, I am a god to your world. Nothing on in this realm can kill me." Giving his serrated blade a twist he pulled it out and brought it up to bring the last tortuous blow when someone caught the blade in his hands.

"Cyrus!" The Pack Mother pleaded through a cough of blood.

"I will not let you harm my queen any more." Cyrus said defiantly. He wore a replica of the armor that he wore when he was younger that was fitted to his specific measurements. Cyrus's hands glowed with a pale blue flame and the part of the blade he caught turned silver. Tiny trickles of blood ran down Cyrus's hands even though he was protected by Luna. Kicking Nexus in the gut Cyrus scooped up the Pack Mother in both arms and retreated behind a the line that was formed by the Griffin Guard and Ace.

"Is she alright?" Vladimir asked.

Ace examined the wound moving his flaming white hand over it. His hand recoiled as he felt the taint on the wound, "The wound if from that of a curse, I cannot heal it. Take her to the castle, Nana might know of a charm that can help her live."

Cyrus nodded and yelled at a few werewolves in the area, "I need you to clear a path to the castle!" Cyrus's body grew as he took his werewolf form and followed his escort with speed faster than any of them have ever run before. With the Park Mother in his arms Cyrus prayed that he would make it to the castle in time.

Looking at the retreating werewolves Nexus sighed, "A pity, looks like I'll have to track her down after I'm through with you." His attention was back on the king and the Griffin Guard, "To be honest I'm surprise you are all still alive, so nice of you to give me the honor of killing you."

"We defeated you before and we will do it again!" Vlad declared.

"You might have defeated me before, but I have had eons to mature this form into my liking. You defeated me while I was still conquering this body but now that won't be an issue now will it?" Nexus toyed.

"As a Paladin of His Majesty I am sworn to banish all abominations from this world, and as a Griffin Guard I am sword to protect the weak. You violate both of my oaths." Vlad challenged.

Nexus snickered, "Then what is stopping you?"

Vladimir took a step forward but Martin's blade stopped his forward movement. Vladimir considered the blade for a moment before looking to Martin for an answer. The usually calm and collected mage now openly displayed a mixture of anger and grief, "Vlad." was all Martin said as if looking for confirmation for his unspoken words.

"No." Vladimir said bluntly, "We work together."

Vlad felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and looked to see Tear with Maria resting easily on his shoulder, "Vlad, let Martin find his honor, let him find his peace."

"He will find his death is what will happen." Vlad retorted.

"Vladimir!" Martin pleaded.

"What's the matter mage?" Nexus taunted, "Can't act on your own will like a free man? I guess you are still are a slave at heart."

That last taunt pushed Martin over the edge and he charged Nexus. The only thing that was on the mage's mind wasn't justice, it was vengeance. Vladimir shouted in protest but the damage was done. Ace rushed past Vlad to support Martin, drawing his gilded sword and raising his winged shield. A bone sword emerged from Nexus's palm, coating in his own blood, and made contact with Martin's sword while the other, still stained with the Pack Mother's blood, struck Ace's shied. With a wild look in his eyes Nexus forced Martin and Ace back then rushed Martin while he was recovering.

Martin brought his left arm up shouting, "Clausus contego!" and a transparent blue disk appeared on his arm and caught one of Nexus's blades while his sword caught the other. Martin felt a prick in his sword hand and rebounded off of Nexus, looking at his hand he saw that his hand was bleeding between his middle and index knuckles, it didn't particularly hurt but Martin turned white when he saw Nexus's hand.

Nexus had a needle like bone extending from the sword hand that locked with Martin's. Bringing his hand up to his mouth Nexus liked the blood off of his extra bone, martin's blood. Giving Martin a wicked smile Nexus said, "Cruor putesco." Then he turned to ward off an attack from Tear and his large sword Maria.

A sharp pain erupted from Martin's hand, he hadn't mistaken what Nexus had said, _cruor putsch…blood rot. _Martin gripped his sword and charged at Nexus, nearly running over Kristin. Dismissing his previous spell Martin invoked another, "Phasma ferrum!" A wispy transparent sword that resembled Martin's sword appeared in his left hand, he didn't have much time before the blood rot spell reached his heart and killed him. Vladimir moved aside for Martin, retreating with his griffin branded shield and his golden glowing sword. Ace held Nexus's attention as Martin plunged his Spirit Sword through the vile creatures back. Nexus staggered and Martin whispered in common tongue, "Shatter." the Spirit Sword that Martin held in his left hand glowed white for an instant before it shattered like glass. Nexus howled in true pain, even if he was all powerful and his body invulnerable his soul was not, for Martin's sword struck out against just that.

Nexus turned to Martin with anger in his eyes and raised a sword to strike the mage, who was still recovering from the forbidden technique, but Vladimir was at Martin's side in an instant and raised his shield in defense while Tear pulled Martin out of the fray. Martin had a death grip on his sword but not out of shock, or exhaustion, or even sheer determination, his arm had locked up with rigamortis. Pulling up the sleeve of his black coat Martin saw that his arm was rotting right on him. Pushing beyond his strength Martin uttered another spell, "Resisto caries." It came out as a whimper.

Tear looked at Martin who was breathing heavily but stood on his own power. Martin tore off his sleeve to revealing that his arm was rotted up to his elbow, and slowly spreading. "Martin!" Tear shouted in horror.

Breathing heavily Martin rasped, "Tear, take my sword and cut off my arm." Tear hesitated, very much unlike him. "If you don't I'll die!" Martin pleaded.

Tear tugged at Martin's blade that was held steadfast in his hand against Martin's will, "Let go!" Tear demanded.

"I can't!" Martin whimpered trying to focus on maintaining his spell that held off the blood rot and would buy him a few precious seconds, "Break my hand if you have to."

"Can't I use Maria?" Tear asked.

Shaking his head Martin replied, "No, it _has _to be my blade. It will halt this infection and prevent it from spreading to anyone else." Without a second thought Tear grabbed Martin's blade and pried it from his hands snapping every finger, but Martin did not feel it for his hand was already dead. Martin fell to his knees, growing weaker with every second. He thrust his right arm out, the infection was creeping closer to his shoulder. "You have to sever _all _of the infection from my body."

Tear raised Martin's blade, "I'm sorry friend."

"So am I." Martin panted. Gritting his teeth Martin uttered one more spell right as the blade contacted his arm and scream, "Defaeco!" The blade severed Martin's arm from his body, the mage passed out from the pain. Martin's arm disintegrated before it ever hit the ground.

Tear pulled a vial from his pocket and poured it in Martin's mouth, lifting his head and messaging his throat so Martin would swallow the thick liquid. Martin's wound began to heal, but agonizingly slowly and the bleeding would not stop. Thinking quickly Tear tore off Martin's coat and bandaged up what remained of his shoulder as best as he could. Turning Tear witnessed an impossible sight, Vladimir was on the ground with his Holy Sword split in two, the sword that could not be broken. Nexus looked battered from his fight, his body had scattered cuts an nicks, most likely from Vlad and Ace's swords. A dagger that belonged to Kristin protruded from his back, probably puncturing a lung, while Kristin was lying on her back and clenching her bloody middle. Miranda had her hands outstretched and was apparently engaged in some kind of mental warfare with Nexus. Ace had lost his shield and his armor had more dings and scratched on it than Nexus. Nexus raised one of his swords to strike Vlad but his movements were jerky, an apparent effect from fighting off Miranda's mental attacks.

A rage welled up in Tear that he hadn't felt since he fought alongside his tribe in glorious battle. Tear charged at Nexus, forgoing Maria, this fight needed speed, not strength. Before Nexus could strike Vladimir down, or ready a defense for that matter, Tear slammed into the side of the necromancer. Nexus shot a look at Miranda, who then crumpled to the ground as if she fainted. Tear didn't give Nexus time to react and rushed right past his defenses keeping Nexus close so it would be hard to land a strike on Tear. One of Tear's fists was always in contact with Nexus as he pushed the abomination back. But Nexus found Tear's patterned and countered, just as Tear hoped. Tear ducked under the attack and got behind Nexus and pulled the dagger out of his back only to plunge it back into Nexus once, twice, three times before Tear finally withdrew. Nexus seemed impressed by the wild warrior, but fighting Nexus was a distraction so Ace could get in close and land a good strike. Nexus howled as Ace's white flaming blade plunged through his chest and then again when Tear, who recovered the top part of Vlad's blade, shoved it through Nexus's other lung.

Nexus dissolved in a cloud of blood only to reappear a short distance away, most of Nexus's minor wounds were gone, but the two Ace and Tear just struck were still there which Nexus clenched, "You insects! You are proving more of a challenge than I first anticipated."

Tear whispered to Ace, "We have to withdraw, Martin and Kristin are severely injured and Miranda is unconscious."

"But we have him." Ace protested.

"You are wounded as well." Tear pointed out.

It was true, Nexus caught the edge of Ace's rib cage with his cursed blade, wounding and bloodying his side. "We have a chance to end this, we should take it."

Tear couldn't deny the logic, but that last bust of adrenaline had exhausted him, but he could manage one more. "Cover me." Tear ordered forgetting that Ace was the king, but Ace obeyed anyways. Rushing forward Tear had Kristin's dagger in one hand and the top of Vlad's blade in the other, which cut into his hand. Ace circled around Nexus's backside to flank him, but Nexus anticipated this and focused his attention on Ace. Slashing both of his blades through the air a **X** of dark energy leapt from their tips and crashed into Ace who was thrown through the air and into the fighting armies that gave the fighters _plenty_ of space. A scowl crosses Tears face as he came up on Nexus and struck with all of his might knocking one of Nexus's blades out of his hands. But the blade was replaced by the sinister spike that had defeated Martin, the sight of the thing sent rage through Tear and sent him into a frenzy. Rushing in close Tear picked up a pattern as he exchanged blows with Nexus. Tear feigned an attack, Nexus took the bait and left his defenses open. Taking the opportunity Tear struck out with Vlad's broken blade, but Nexus spun and lodged his spike in Tears left eye. It would have been Tear's right eye if he hadn't shifted his head, it would have been _very _bad if his right eye was stabbed instead of his left.

Nexus leapt back and started to raise his spike to his mouth to like Tear's blood. However, Tear was faster and grabbed Nexus's arm before he could get a drop of Tear's blood in his tongue. Tear grabbed the spike and broke it off of Nexus's hand and used it to stab Nexus repeatedly, all the while never feeling the searing pain in his head. Tear started to stagger after his adrenaline left him, but he felt a hand that helped him back to his feet. It was Vladimir, he was holding the hilt of his sword and a magical golden blade extended from it.

"Are you alright friend?" Vlad asked.

Tear chuckled, "I lost another eye, I guess Martin will have to make me another one. Lucky that it wasn't my right eye, would have taken out everything within a mile of here."

"Can you still fight?" Vlad asked, Tear lifted himself from Vlad's grip.

"Not to come out of it alive." Tear replied, "That last rush was my last."

Vlad swore under his breath, "Then we need to retreat and care to the wounded."

"Agreed." Tear said pulling his headband over his missing eye.

Nexus Laughed at the pitiful debate, "And what makes you think I will let you leave?" Nexus paused and turned his attention to something in the sea of fighting armies, it was a presence that he hadn't felt for a very long time. A wicked smile split Nexus's face, "It seems like you are ready to come out now!" he yelled, seemingly at nobody, "Well come on! We can't wait all night now can we?" Tear and Vlad exchanged confused looks.

There was a disturbance in the fighting armies, the undead turned to ash in a pulse of white and black flame. In the center of the shockwave stood Owen and Chad with Jas, Evan, Ty, and Kim behind them.

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**Worked out most of the **_**'new game fever' **_**so I should be a bit more consistent with chapters after Dec 22. "Why?" you might ask. That is the last day of Finals so that is what I'll be studying for between now and then. Anyways see you all in about two weeks, hopefully, and maybe I can finally get this story done with (It is going a bit longer than I originally planed)**


	47. Chapter 47

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

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**Chapter 47: Retreat**

"Conatum!" the seven mages yelled causing the army around them to be pushed away, friend and foe alike. Five of the mages rushed to the edge of the clearing and started drawing magical runes on the ground in chalk the same color as their order; Bennie with Grey, Silla with Yellow, Iona with Green, Marco with Red, and Bjorn with Blue. The runes were the same distance from each other and only varied slightly in design. The five mages sat cross legged facing their rune while their back faced the inside of the circle. Grabbing their prayer beads they folded their hands and started to chant a warding spell that would prevent any from entering. Meanwhile the other two mages, Lan and Alexis, were drawing a magi circle in white chalk and sat crossed legged in the center of it facing each other.

"Are you ready?" Lan asked.

"Are you?" Alexis retorted.

Nodding Lan held offered his left hand to Alexis who produced a long white ribbon. Alexis grabbed Lan's hand so their fingers interlaced and then tied their hands together with the ribbon. Lan made a fist with his free hand and put it between him and Alexis then pointed his index and middle fingers upward and Alexis did the same. Taking a deep breath Lan invoked his magic, "Primus ex quinque dimittere sigilla!" Lan shuddered as the first of his five seals was released, it felt like and ocean was trying to push through him. Again he spoke, "Do hanc potestatem Magus." The pressure lessened, if only slightly, as his manna flowed into Alexis. A beam of manna shot into the air and Lan fought to stop it, Lan was the buffer in this plan, he had to make sure Alexis wouldn't be burned from the intensity of his manna.

Alexis was breathing heavily and her grip tightened on Lan's hand. Nodding she reassured Lan that she was alright, her breathing steadied and she began to recite an incantation.

In the distance loomed Nexus's tower, although the Magi Council ordered the contingent of mages to escort Lan to the tower and apprehend the two rouge mages Lan had other plans in mind. Lan was allowed to pick out the mages that would escort him, and he picked those whose home was Lux Lucis. The mages agreed to Vladimir and Martin's plan to trap the walking tower, even though they would be severely punished for going against the Council, but some things are worth the risk, like ones home.

The magi circle that Lan and Alexis were sitting on began to glow brilliantly. Two beams of multicolored lights crawled on the ground in opposite directions, the barrier had begun to form, once the two beams meet nothing will be able to get in or out. The soldiers and werewolves were informed of this and were wise enough to clear the area once they saw the multicolored light. However this was not true for the few brave, young souls who had wandered too close to the tower and were fighting for their lives, oblivious to the impending hazard.

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Out of the corner of his vision Spyro noticed a body flying though the air and towards them. Thinking quickly Spyro shouted, "Cynder catch him with wind!" Cynder did as asked and she slowed the falling body, but the impact would still kill. Spyro raised his front legs and stomped them down sending out a shockwave that knocked everyone in the immediate area to their knees, but more importantly it loosened up the dirt hopefully enough to save the poor soldier. The body impacted the ground and Spyro definitely heard the sound of breaking bones. Running over to the body Spyro was relived to see that it had sat up, even more so when he realized that it was Ace.

"Are you ok?" Spyro asked.

Ace pointed to his back, "Help me out of this armor, it got dented in the back when I landed." Ace turned and sure enough the entire back of his cuirass was dented in, if Ace didn't have his inhuman healing abilities the dent would have been fatal. Struggling with the straps Spyro and Ace managed to pry off the cuirass and Ace's body began to reform itself back to its normal shape in the form of several loud cracks and snaps. Looking over himself Ace frowned at his remaining armor, it was no better off than the cuirass. Pulling out his dagger he cut the rest of his armors straps and it fell off, the only piece that remained was his boots.

Spyro noticed the deep red stain on the side of his shirt and then the exposed wound across his ribs, "Your hurt!"

Grabbing his wound Ace winced, "I will live."

Cynder padded over with a sign of relief, "Thank the Ancestors that it was you and not someone else."

The undead started to rise but before they could fully stand they turned to ash in a pulse of white and black flame. The flames licked at Spyro's scales but they didn't burn, or hurt for that matter, if anything he felt a little bit rejuvenated. Looking for the origin of the fire Spyro saw his friends in the distance and beyond them he saw Nexus.

Ace swore and grabbed a weapon from one of the ash piles, "Follow me." he ordered but he fell to his knees grasping his wound.

"We have to get you out of here." Cynder said forcefully.

Waving aside Cynder's comment he replied, "I'll be fine." Ace tried to stand but fell back to the ground.

"Ace!" looking up Spyro saw Brad running towards them with a few other soldiers, "Ancestors what happened to you?" Pulling his friend up Brad provided support for Ace. Pointing with his free hand Ace directed Brads attention to Nexus. Swearing under his breath Brad handed Ace over to one of his men, "Take him back to the castle, get him treated, and order a full retreat."

"You can't!" Ace protested then started having a coughing fit.

Brad looked Ace right in the eye, "Look around you, we are fighting a loosing battle, the only thing that has gone right is the barrier, so far at least. I'm ordering a full retreat and praying to anything that will listen that the barrier will hold until we regain our strength for a second attack." Ace looked past Brad to his two sons, following his gaze Brad reassured Ace, "Don't worry, I'll get them out of here." Ace was staring hard at Brad but nodded in agreement, "Now go!" he ordered and the soldiers sounded the retreat. Turning to Spyro and Cynder Brad said, "Alright you two, I'm going to need your help on this one."

"What do you want us to do?" Cynder asked.

Brad held up his sword, "Follow my lead." and he charged at Nexus.

"This isn't much of a plan!" Cynder protested.

"I wasn't always the one for planning things out, I usually make it up as I go." Brad replied, the tip of his blade was dragging on the ground and where it trailed the ground turned to sand. "Spyro now!"

_Now what?_ Spyro wondered. Brad swung his sword up and a wave of sand followed and arched towards Nexus. Purely on impulse Spyro spew fire from his maw at the wave of sand turned it into shards of glass.

Brad laughed, "That was better than what I planned."

The glass shards flew through the air but were far from their mark, Spyro grinned when he saw a blue outline appear around the shards. The shards turned sharply and homed in on Nexus who sliced them out of the air but created smaller shards, which retained their blue outline, the smaller more deadly shards pierced into Nexus. Yelling Nexus rushed in on Jas with his two bone swords only to be stopped by Evan's might hammer Undivver, one of Nexus's swords snapped as it hit the indestructible steel. Bringing his other sword down to strike Evan Nexus got a boot to the face, Kim used Evan as a step up to attack from the air. However Kim was now vulnerable, luckily she has a brother that always has her back. Ty's entire body was lit with a pale blue and purple flame that turned everything but his skin silver, including his hair. Cutting low Ty split open Nexus's middle then dodged aside to let Owen and Chad through. Reading each other's movements Owen stepped right and Chad stepped left, their swords blazing with their power, they revered their direction and both cut up with their blades drawing an **X **on Nexus's chest.

But all that would not be enough to silence Nexus, throwing his hand aside he yelled, "Recesserimus!" A sphere of force pushed everyone away from Nexus and throwing them several feet after that.

Spyro was knocked to the ground and saw Owen disappear in a flash of light only to reappear an instant later charging at Nexus. Spyro didn't even see Nexus move, he had stepped past Owen and his blade was raised coated in fresh blood. Screaming in pain Owen grasped his right shoulder, all Spyro could do was watch in horror. Jas, who was not to far from Spyro, started to run to Owen but Chad restrained her, Spyro heard Chad say, "You can't stop what is about to happen." Jas thrashed about trying to break Chad's grip and screamed louder when Nexus picked up Owen by the throat. Evan charged and Chad yelled but it was to late, Nexus pointed his free hand at Evan and sent Evan flying through the air. Horrified, Spyro saw Vladimir charge Nexus with a blade of golden light, they exchanged two blow before Nexus uppercut and dropped Vladimir where he stood.

Chad swore and threw Jas to Brad, "Hold her!" he ordered. Chad placed both hands on the ground and they turned blacker than night. As Nexus was about to kill Vladimir he sunk into the ground and reappeared next to Chad. Nexus turned to Chad to see him holding his sword defiantly and Vladimir's unconscious body at his feet. Tear, with Martin slung over his shoulder ran to his wounded friend and Miranda followed helping Kristin along as best she could. Kim went over to help Miranda and Ty ran to her aid just in time to deflect a dark energy attack from Nexus.

Cynder helped Spyro to his feet, who had taken the brunt of Nexus's attack that blew everyone away and he was a bit dazed. But that was the least of his concerns, Spyro stared speechlessly as Nexus raised Owen higher by the neck. The onlookers stood paralyzed, helpless to the events that unfolded before them. Nexus thrust his free hand into Owen's chest, but impossibly it did not come out on the other side. Owen cried out in pain and try as he might he could not break free. With a twisted grin Nexus violently pulled out a clear sphere the size of a fist, inside the sphere burned two flames; one white, one black. The hole in Owen's chest did not close, but it did not show his insides, it showed a black void. The two flames in the sphere flared and a beam of light shot into the sky from Owen's body. The beam of light grew into a large pillar that pushed everyone away, even Nexus. Owen's eyes glowed white and his body was covered in white and black flames, they seemed to be fighting to cover his entire body but would loose as much ground as they gained. There Owen was, suspended in a pillar of light, and unbeknown to his friends fighting for his very life.

* * *

After the blinding light faded from Owen's eyes he rose from the floor and realized where he was, standing on top of a pyramid that was housed inside an even larger stone room. A piercing pain racked Owen's body as a shadowy form ripped itself from Owen. The black mass crawled on the ground until it took the recognizable form of Owen's darker half, Umbra, who was garbed in the same attire as Owen.

"So here we are." Umbra said in his manic voice as he stood, "The final battle between you and I, and whoever wins gets all of the marbles."

Owen chuckled, "Looks like your missing more than a few."

Umbra glared at Owen with the look of a killer in his white eyes. A thin smile creased Umbra's features and he started to laugh maniacally, "How right you are dear boy. That tends to happen to someone who has been imprisoned for the past few millennia."

"What do you…" Owen began to ask but Umbra lunged at Owen who locked blades with each other.

Umbra's face was a hairs width away from Owen's, "We aren't here to talk boy, we fight for this body and nothing more, the looser can rot in eternity. Oh, and your plan to sacrifice your soul to destroy me won't work, I am much to powerful for petty tricks such as that."

In his shock Owen was pushed back, "Your bluffing!" Owen shouted in denial.

"Am I?" Umbra laughed, "Why don't you try it and find out for yourself, doesn't matter how I get this body so long as I do, who knows I might actually be bluffing." A sinister smile split Umbra's face, "But what if I'm not, hmm? Then where will you be? Where will you be when I wrench the life from your precious friends, I think I might start with the young psychic girl, make her scream while the hand of her beloved pulls her heart out!" Umbra cackled.

Although Umbra's joy was short lived when Owen pressed harder on the locked blades pushing Umbra back with fire in his eyes, "I will not allow that." a intense feeling started to well up in Owen's chest, it felt like the cold of space and the fire of the sun was in side his chest clawing at his insides, "I cannot allow that." white flames licked at Owen's skin as he pressed Umbra backwards, "You will not hurt my friends!" Bringing his blade back Owen brought it down to lock back with Umbra's blade and sent him flying back in a cascade of white fire. Confident that he had pushed Umbra off of the pyramid Owen got a boot to the face and was sent tumbling down the stairs, catching himself about halfway down Owen looked up the stairs to see Umbra looking down at him.

"Quite a lot of power you got their boy!" Umbra shouted down, "To bad that you lack the proper control to focus all of that power into a formidable force!" Holding his hand out in front of himself Umbra yelled, "Observe!" A black sphere formed in Umbra's hand and collapsed in itself to the size of a marble, the sphere pulsed out and a beam of dark energy propelled Owen down the rest of the pyramid.

Owen did not know how long it took as he lied in pain but Umbra had leisurely walked down the entire pyramid then grabbed Owen by the hair and brought him up to eye level with his feet dangling a full foot off of the ground, "The only good thing about unconcentrated power is that it makes an effective shield." Umbra's voice now sounded sane and no longer mad, "You had so much potential." Bringing his sword up to finish Owen Umbra's eyes widened as Owen flared with white fire, not hesitating Umbra drove his blade through Owen's chest. Well he would have had Owen not teleported away in a flash of light.

Holding his chest with his free hand Owen had felt the tip of Umbra's blade on his skin, _that was way to close_, despite of the current situation Owen couldn't help but smile to himself. Bringing his sword up Owen noticed something in the edge of his vision, wings, on him. Taking a look at himself Owen saw that he had somehow grown six pares of feathery white wings.

"It just goes to show that you should never taunt an angel." Umbra lamented, "It seems like you won't be as easy to kill as I thought boy." Umbra smirked, "But not by much."

Umbra ran towards Owen but something was wrong, Owen could actually see him running, at normal speed. Not thinking to long on it Owen charged forward folding his wings back so it would make battle less awkward. Locking blades once again with Owen Umbra showed open shock on his face before it turned into a satisfying smile.

"Oh this will be fun." He whispered. Pushing Owen back Umbra stabbed his sword into the ground and tendrils of darkness rose form the ground and wrapped themselves around Owen who frantically tried to fly away. The tendrils pulled Owen down and wrapped themselves around him covering him completely. Umbra knew better than to think that it was over, and he was right, the tendrils of darkness blew apart in an explosion of light. Ducking in time to dodge a chunk of the tendril Umbra shot out another beam of darkness that was knocked harmlessly aside by one of Owen's wings.

Owen never felt so alive before in his life, he was the cold void of space and the hot fire of the sun. The feeling consumed him completely and he ran at Umbra, his sword covered in light. Owen's light no longer resembled a flame, now it was only an intense white glow. Their swords locked and Owen fought to keep his ground, as did Umbra, but unlike Umbra, Owen was not just fighting for this body; but for the safety of his friends, his family, and any innocent that Umbra may lay waste to. That is what pushed Owen to fight, that is where Owen got his power from, that is why he could not loose!

Fighting with all of his might Umbra had only once faced an opponent with the intensity and zeal of the one he now face, the first angel to walk the face of this mortal world, the one who sealed him in his eternal prison near the dawn of this wretched world. A sneer formed on Umbra's face, "How can you be so much like him!" he yelled, "Who are you Owen Spade! Who the hell are you!" Umbra would not get his answer, he felt Owen weakening and Umbra knew exactly why, "No! I told you not to interfere!"

Thinking Umbra had gone back to his crazed self Owen shuddered when he heard Nexus's voice, "You are taking to long, since you cannot handle one child I am taking the liberty to do it for you."

"You can't!" Umbra shouted at Nexus.

"I can and will." Nexus taunted.

Umbra pushed away and Owen started to close the gap but he fell to his knees. Looking to Umbra for answers Owen asked, "What did you do?"

"Not me." Umbra said harshly, "I would never stoop to such cowardly means of victory, Nexus is stealing your soul into the very prison that I had called home."

Fully expecting to meet the floor with his face Owen was surprised to see Umbra kneeling down in front of Owen holding him up, "Why would you?"

Umbra laugh sounded sad, "I have something called honor you stupid boy! Something Nexus cares little for."

It felt like Owen's life was being sucked right out of him and he became weaker by the second, trying to utter a single word Owen found himself to weak to speak.

"This body is mine now boy." Umbra said a matter-of-factly.

With the last of his strength Owen grabbed Umbra by the collar of his armor and said in his ear, "If you harm any of my friends I will come back and kill you." With the last burst of strength Owen's depleted his hold on his body was no more and Owen found his consciousness in the clear sphere that Nexus held, but to Owen's perception he was in a desert under a blistering sun as far as they eye could see.

* * *

The spell was taking its toll on both Alexis and Lan; Alexis was at her limits and was breathing heavily barley clinging to consciousness, Lan's body was starting to literally break apart. Looking at his hand Lan could see cracks in his skin and the blue glow of his manna peaking through, _spell scars_, Lan thought. He started to wonder how much more he could take before his entire body broke. Lan's thoughts were interrupted when a fireball hit the ward that the five other mages had summoned. Another one hit, this time with more force. Looking for the source Lan looked towards the tower they were trying to seal and a barrage of fireballs was heading towards them.

"We can't take much more!" Iona yelled, "How much longer?"

Lan honestly didn't know, "Not to much more now." His voice came out in a multi-pitched echo, which startled Lan.

"I hope not." Marco said.

One by one the fireballs hit, each one more powerful than the last. There was a pause in the onslaught of fire, looking to the tower Lan knew why, A giant fireball was soaring through the air towards the defenseless mages. He didn't know how but Lan suspected Ken was behind this.

"How are we suppose to stop something like that?" Bennie asked.

Lan took a deep breath and placed his free hand in the center of the magi circle, "Tutus tutela!" Lan shouted, it sounded like a choir shouted along with Lan. The ward the mages had erected shattered but was replaced with a faint blue barrier that Lan had summoned just in time. Alexis whimpered and started to cry. _Damn, _Lan thought, _she got backlash from the spell._ Releasing his shield Lan order, "Put another ward up, quickly! Whoever cast that spell won't be doing another one for anytime soon."

"Lan." Alexis whimpered. She had finished the incantation some time ago but she still needed to maintain focus to guide the spell, "Lan I can't take anymore."

"Just a bit more, your almost there." Lan soothed.

Alexis gripped Lan's, "No, I won't be able to finish it."

"One big burst then, release it all at once." Lan suggested.

Nodding Alexis and Lan grabbed each other's free hand, Lan increased the flow of manna into Alexis, "It's not enough." Alexis cried.

_What else can we do?_ Lan wondered, he could increase the flow, but that could hurt Alexis more than it already has. _Think damn it!_ Lan cleared his mind and thought over his lessons, more manna can be transferred when the mages have more contact with each other's body. Lan shook his head trying to remember more, the five point where magic manifests the strongest is the hands, feet, and chest. _No wait_, Lan though, _there are six; hands, feet, chest, and mouth. Manna can be transferred easier at these points, more so if the body parts are the same; right hand to right hand, left hand to left hand._ That is why the barrier was taking so long, Lan and Alexis were holding the wrong hands. Alexis fell forward on the fringe of consciousness, her grip had weakened and her breathing slowed, "One last burst." Lan whispered. Letting go of one of Alexis's hands Lan brought her head up to his and gently caressed her lips with his. Alexis gasped as she felt an ocean of manna pour into her, forcing her eyes to open she saw Lan right in her face. The multicolored lines that almost surrounded the large area around the tower glowed brightly as they raced to complete their arc before crashing into each other and a transparent multicolored dome rose from the line sealing everyone and everything inside, including the tower.

"You did it!" Bjorn cheered.

Lan brought the now unconscious Alexis away from his lips and slapped his right hand on the center of his chest, "Primus ex quinque sigilla signaculum." Lan gasped, it felt like he was taken from a warm raging river to being dropped into a cold pool, not at all uncomfortable but none the less unpleasant. Lan looked at his hand to see that the glowing lines of the spell scar had disappeared and was replaced by flowing blood.

Silla examined Lan's hand, "You strained yourself to much."

"I'll be fine." Lan panted, "What about Alexis?"

Taking her attention from Lan Silla examined Alexis, "She is unconscious but overall unharmed, let me treat your hands and then we can go."

"Make it quick. The undead are not happy that we trapped their master." Bjorn said.

Silla wrapped Lan's hands in bandages, "These enchanted wraps should help you heal faster and hopefully not leave scars, but after what you've been through I wouldn't hold my breath."

Lan nodded, "Thank you." He bent down to pick up Alexis.

"What ever happened to that beam of light?" Marco asked.

Lan looked at Marco curiously, "What light?"

Marco shrugged, "I guess you didn't see it, but there was a pillar of light over there for a few minutes then disappeared ."

Looking to where Marco was pointing Lan shook his head, "Lets not worry about it, we have done our job now it is time to get to safety."

Bennie groaned, "The Council is going to be really mad with us."

"If we get in trouble for protecting our home then so be it, I do not regret what we have done." Iona said with her spitfire attitude.

"Neither do I but do you think that Council will understand?" Bennie asked.

Lan hefted Alexis up in his arms, "You leave the Council to me, there is no reason for the rest of you to…"

Bjorn slapped Lan on the shoulder, "We are as much at fault as you are Lan, we will see the consequences of our actions out to the end. Be they good or bad we all can continue to live with a clear conscious. The Council might control the magic, but they don't control the minds of men. Now lets get out of here before the undead make a meal out of us."

Lan nodded, the mages pulled out their staves or wands and Bjorn picked up Lan's staff and Iona grabbed Alexis's. Looking behind him Lan wondered what exactly that beam of light Marco was talking about came from and if his friends made it out of the area before the barrier closed and sealed them in.

* * *

Somehow Jas had gotten free in the confusion and rushed to Owen, but Nexus was upon her in an instant. A beam of black fire hit Nexus and he flew backwards and everyone searched for the attacker. Chad stood with a strange metal object in his hand, it looked like an ornate black and gold outstretched wing with a handle, which Chad held, Spyro had never seen anything like it in his life. Nexus got up and looked angrily at Chad, with fire in his eyes Chad pulled the little lever next to the handle with his index finger. There was and explosion of darkness in front of the tip of the wing and the whole device kicked back. Another beam of darkness flew and hit Nexus faster than Spyro could see, or Nexus for that matter. Again and again Chad pulled the lever and more beams of darkness shot out at Nexus and each one found their mark.

After the sixth shot Chad turned to his friends and the fallen Griffin Guard, "We have to leave now."

"We can't leave him!" Jas protested.

"There is nothing we can do for him." Chad said detached from the situation.

"How can you say that? He is your brother!" Jas yelled.

Chad face saddened and he started to walk away, "He is not the Owen I know, not yet at least."

Jas ran up Chad, "You knew that all of this was going to happen!" Chad didn't say anything but just looked away not wanting to tell her that she was right. Jas picked up Chad's thought and she slapped him across the face, "How could you!"

Catching Jas's hand in mid swing Chad looked at her right in the eyes, "No matter how good or bad something is, everything happens for a reason."

"But you could have stopped this!" Jas protested.

"I couldn't prevent this no more than you could." Chad retorted.

Spyro looked toward Nexus who was holding the sphere with the black and white flames in it towards Owen, "Chad, Nexus is doing something!"

Both Chad and Jas turned to see the black flame dwindle from the sphere and the white flame grow, simultaneously the black flames on Owen's body grew and the white flames dies. Jas lunged for Owen but Chad held her back, "I would feel bad for this but you already forgave me." Chad said as he held a hand in front of Jas's face, there was a dark aura around Chad's hand as Jas fell into a state of unconsciousness.

"What did you do that for?" Cynder asked as she confronted Chad.

Hefting Jas over his shoulder Chad replied, "She told me to, at least she will." Spyro knew that Cynder wouldn't accept that reply. Chad shook his head, "We don't have time for this, we have to leave now."

"Why should we?" Cynder demanded.

"I'm not sure about you but I don't want to be trapped in an impenetrable magical barrier." Chad retorted.

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked, Chad pointed towards a multicolored light in the distance and then another one in the opposite direction. Being a creature of magic Spyro could feel the power in the beams of light. "We can fight amongst ourselves later. Right now we have to leave."

"That is what I've been saying." Chad said, "Everyone grabbed the wounded and follow me."

Once the wounded were gathered everyone followed Chad, Nexus didn't even pay any mind to them as they retreated. Not a moment to soon, the two beams of light collided and a barrier of transparent color rose from the ground almost instantaneously. On the other side of the barrier Owen was no longer suspended in the pillar of light but now wore a darker visage and appeared to be arguing with Nexus, whatever they were fighting about Owen would have to face Nexus on his own. Spyro just hoped that Owen was unharmed and that they would see each other again.

* * *

**The ending felt a bit rushed but I had to end it somewhere. Sorry for the lateness but there where the holidays and whatnot and I have had little time to actually sit down at the computer with some peace and quiet. Lets just say that my younger relatives can be inconveniently obnoxious when I want to do stuff that does not involve them. Meh, at least they are gone now.**


	48. Chapter 48

**I only own the characters on my profile page, nobody else.**

* * *

**Chapter 48: Revelation**

Safe within the walls of Lux Lucis the mortal army tended to their wounded and prepared for the next battle. The magical defenses had been activated and kept the unwanted undead outside of the city walls. The Yellow mages had their work cut out for them, for every one Yellow mage their were ten soldiers that needed tending to, and their was by no means a short supply of Yellow mages. Sitting in his room Ty was finishing bandaging himself after Nana had finished scribbling runes around his more serious wounds. Ty had received a cut across his face that made a line about an inch under his eyes and crossed over his nose, Nana had made it clear that he would receive a scar from that. Looking in his mirror Ty was relieved that the cut wasn't that bad, large yes but not bad. The cut kind of looked like a wide upside-down **V**. Tying off the bandages on his torso and arms Ty tied a bandage around his head to cover his nose making sure that the bandages were tucked under his long unruly grey hair. Pulling a plain grey tunic over his head Ty realized for the first time that his bones didn't burn, the feeling was still there but he didn't hurt.

Hearing a knock on his door Ty was pulled from his thoughts, "Come in." he said.

The door opened and in walked Kim and behind her Evan. Kim immediately noticed the bandages on Ty's face and rushed to him trying to get a better look at what was underneath, "What happened?" Kim asked.

Swatting aside Kim's fingers Ty reassured his sister, "It is just a scratch."

"He'll be fine." Evan said, setting Kim at ease, until she saw all of Ty's bandages peaking though his tunic. "You fuss to much over your brother. He is made of stronger stuff than you think." Evan said seeing that Ty was getting fed up by his sister's coddling.

Ty grabbed Kim's hands that were trying to undo his bandages, "_I_ am the older brother Kim, _I _am the one who is suppose be worrying about _you_, not _you _worrying about _me_."

"That doesn't mean that I can't!" Kim pouted.

"That still doesn't mean that you should." Ty snapped back, he hated being protected especially when he didn't need it. Kim recoiled from the sharpness of Ty's voice, feeling bad Ty placed at hand on his sister's head, "But thanks anyways." After a pause Ty asked, "So is there a reason for both of you coming here or did Kim just want to fuss over a few scratches?"

"Actually yes," Evan began, "Chad wants to explain himself and he asked for all of us to meet him in the library."

Ty sniffed, "Yeah, he has a lot to answer for, especially to Jas. He could have warned us, or at least dropped hints."

* * *

"I've already told you that there is nothing more that I can do." Silla repeated herself angrily.

"What if we get a more skilled Yellow mage?" Lan dared to ask, Silla was a few years older than him and had much more experience on such matters.

Silla glared at Lan, "Excuse me? I may not be the strongest mage out their, but I know what can and cannot be treated with magic, and if it can be treated I know how to treat it. Alexis needs rest Lan, magic can't change that."

Lan pleaded, "There has to be something that we can do!"

Shaking her head Silla sighed, "The only thing that you can do is be their for her when she wakes up, I'm sure that will cheer her up." Lan stared blankly at Silla, "Oh come off it, everyone at the University and half of the city know that you and Alexis have been courting each other. The Headmaster even approves!"

Blushing slightly Lan crossed his arms regaining his composure, "We are not 'courting' each other."

"Well then call it what you want, but it is no secret that Alexis has feelings for you, and you for her." Silla teased.

"What?" Lan asked dumbfounded, his composure shattered.

"Your joking right?" Silla asked and after a moment's pause knew that Lan wasn't, "You mean you really didn't know?"

"Know what?" Lan asked.

Silla stormed up to Lan, "You stupid boy! You had no idea that she cared for you?" Lan baked up shaking his head, Silla kept walking up to Lan, "Everyone know Alexis only talks to people she cares for, and up until recently that has only been Headmaster Hector! Sure she might hold a brief, awkward, conversation now and then but not the way she talks to you."

Still trying to put distance between him and Silla Lan tried to defend himself, "How was I suppose to know? I have only been in this realm for a few months, and it has only been weeks since I found out Hector had a daughter."

Now Silla had literally cornered Lan in the room. "Well then answer me this, do _you _care for her?"

Lan's face reddened, "I er…"

"What is she to you?" Silla asked threateningly.

Letting himself down from his tiptoes Lan let out a held breath, "She really cares for me?"

"More than her father if I dare say." Silla replied.

Looking over to Alexis who was peacefully sleeping on her bed Lan knew what Alexis was to him. Firmly Lan said, "I do care for her, but not as a guardian would, but as a person would. She is the single most amazing person that I have meet since I came to this realm, and I would gladly give my life for her."

A sly smile came across Silla's face, "Great! Now I can tell all of the mages that the rumors are true."

Lan had been played for a fool, "You tricked me!"

"You tricked yourself." Silla said playfully, she made her was for the door.

Lan felt defeated, but most of all he felt hurt, "Was it true?"

"What?" Silla asked.

"Was any of what you said true?" Lan asked.

Taking her hands off the door Silla walked over to Lan, "I didn't mean to hurt you Lan."

"Well you did." Lan said sadly.

Biting her lip Silla felt bad, "I didn't say anything that was untrue Lan, Alexis really does love you."

Smiling Lan felt reassured by his feelings, "I'm glad for that." Lan took a the chair from his desk and pulled it up next to Alexis's bed.

Standing behind Lan Silla asked, "You mean that you really didn't know that Alexis cared for you?"

"No, I had no idea." Lan grabbed one of Alexis's hands with both of his bandaged hands.

"So you were never together?" Silla pressed, Lan shook his head, "But all of those times you would take her out of the city and not be seen until dark, and your always together."

Lan didn't look at Silla, "Hector made me her guardian and told me to protect her. As for our trips out of the city, Alexis doesn't like cities that much. We would find someplace quiet outside the city and talk."

"Talk? About what?" Silla asked, digging for information.

Lan shrugged, "About her, about me, about magic, about the stars, about my home, about this world, about each other, and we would laugh."

"You got Alexis to laugh?" Silla asked bewildered, Lan simply nodded. Silla laughed, "Looks like the rumors were true all along."

"Which one would that be?" Lan asked curiously.

"That you and Alexis are in a relationship." Silla answered.

"But we weren't." Lan protested.

Silla patted Lan on the shoulder, "But you both acted like you were, even if you weren't." walking to the door Silla paused, "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you were oblivious to Alexis's feelings, or that you are in a relationships. At least until you and Alexis express your feelings for each other, and you better show her how you really feel about her." With a click of the door Silla slipped out of the room.

After a moment of silence Lan laughed to himself, "Idiot." he said, "It should have been obvious." Alexis was breathing softly, Lan couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened to her, even though she insisted. "I'm so sorry Alexis. I'm sorry that you had to be the one to cast the spell, if only I was better at casting I would have been able to do it myself." Lan rested his head on his hands that still held Alexis's hand, "I'm also sorry for being to thick to realize how you felt for me, and for being to dense to tell you how I felt for you." There was a knock at the door, without thinking Lan said, "Intraveritis." and the doors swung open, he felt an immediate stinging sensation in his hands as soon as he cast the spell. _Damn spell scars_, Lan thought. Kim, Ty, and Evan walked through the door and up behind Lan.

"How is she?" Kim asked.

"No better, no worse." Lan replied.

"Lan are you ready to go?" asked Evan from behind.

"No," Lan answered, after a short pause he continued, "but there are things that Chad has to answer for."

"Then let's go." Evan said.

"You go on ahead, I'll get Spyro and Cynder and we will catch up." Lan said.

* * *

Spyro was laying in the infirmary with his front paws crossed and Cynder sat near him on her haunches. "Are you sure you don't need any healing?" one of the yellow mages asked Tear, who was sitting upright in his bed.

"I said I will be fine. It's just one eye, I already lost me other one." Tear retorted, his empty eye socket was bandaged over in such a way so that he could still see out of his one good eye. "Unless you can make me another then there is nothing you can do for me."

"If you say so." The yellow mage said uneasily and quickly exited the makeshift infirmary, formerly a bedroom, most likely to tend to the other wounded.

Brad was sitting backwards in his chair and crossing his arms on the back of it. Brad was virtually unscathed, being part dragon Brad could easily heal any but the most fatal wounds by absorbing red crystals. The same was true for Spyro and Cynder. In his dusty brown tunic and black trousers Brad leaned forward and asked. "Now that she has left I have to ask, what happened out there?"

Tear rubbed his one good eye with his thumb, "We were caught unaware. All of us expected Nexus to have increased his power over the time of his imprisonment, it was only natural. But for him to have that much power, not even Martin expected it." Turning his head so that he could see Martin on the bed to Tear's right he shook his head, "Nexus got under Martin's skin, though I doubt it would have made much of a difference if Martin stayed his blade for a few more minutes."

"Do you think he will be all right?" Cynder asked.

Shaking his head Tear turned to Cynder, "Martin had always been able to recover from any wound, and even healed a few of the others, hell, he made me a new eye."

"How did he manage to make an eye?" Spyro asked.

"How else?" Cynder replied, "Magic of course."

Nodding Tear said, "More or less, I'm no mage so I wouldn't even be able to explain it. All I know is that it works better than a normal eye, and that it should never be broken. If me eye broke it would release the magic held inside and take off my head, and everything else in about a mile."

"There is that much magic inside just one eye? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Spyro asked.

"It is, but it is either that or being blind in one eye, and being a warrior I tend to need a pair of them." Tear explained.

"I would do the same, better to have two than one. Can pick out what is going around you easier." Brad agreed.

Spyro shook his head, "But if you think about it, you wouldn't need both eyes if there wasn't any fighting."

Tear smirked, "If an age of peace were to dawn I would gladly drop my sword where I stand and never pick it up again, but fighting is a natural part of living and so is death."

"I know, its just that sometimes war does terrible thing." Spyro said.

"War always does terrible things, the winning side might not see it, but the loosing side surely does." Brad put in, after a pause he said, "Ancestors I pray that the barrier holds."

"It will, you saw how much manna was being put into it." Cynder reassured, "Lan is far from the ordinary mage, and Alexis is just as talented."

Spyro stood up, "They should have done it faster, if they did maybe…" Spyro left his sentence unfinished.

"Maybe Owen would still be with us." Brad finished after a pause, and Spyro nodded sadly.

Cynder scooted up to Spyro, "All of us wish Owen was here now, but Chad said that things just happen, and lets face it, he knows more of what is going on than any of us."

Sitting back down Spyro sighed, "Your right. Jas is taking it the hardest out of all of us."

"Her and Ben, he is in shock from the whole event, won't even accept food." Brad said mournfully, "He just stares off into nothing."

"I never would have guessed that Owen, of all people, would have a dark side." Spyro said.

Tear swore under his breath, "So that is what happened, I though we sealed the realms off from each other."

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked.

Tear waved his hand in the air trying to recall the details, "When we sealed Nexus on what is now Earth we sealed off all other realms so that nothing could invade either the Magic Realm or Earth. There were also a few other realms sealed that might have been a threat to the multiverse, one of which was the Shadow Realm where the Shades originate from."

"The Elders were talking about that a while ago." Cynder started, "They said that the seals were broken when Spyro used Convexity to reform the world. They think that Spyro's Convexity rippled across the realms and broke the seals, or at least weakened them." Tear's face twisted into a scowl when he heard the word Convexity.

"More like cracked." was heard from behind, Lan had slipped into the room without anyone noticing.

"What do you mean?" Brad asked.

Lan shrugged, "I have been looking at the Veil, the thing that separates the realms," Lan explained when he got a few confused looks, "usually the dead can pass through the Veil easily, regardless of seals. If they couldn't then there would be more ghosts than living beings in every world. Anyways that is not the point, the point is that there are cracks in the seal on this realm exposing the Veil. That is how we got here from Earth, we slipped through the cracks."

"Well there is not much that we can do about it now." Tear said.

Lan nodded. Cynder asked, "Hey, how is Alexis?"

A pained looked covered Lan's face, something not often seen, "No better, no worst. How about the Griffin Guard?"

"We had better days." Tear replied.

Brad sighed and rose from his chair, "I suppose it is time for me to organize patrols and a watch schedule, who knows how long it will be before the undead break through the walls. If you will excuse me." Setting his chair back next to the door Brad quickly departed.

"We should be going too." Lan offered, "We have to see what Chad knows about all of this."

Spyro nodded, "There is so much that we don't know, maybe Chad can enlighten us."

"Just don't go doing anything stupid." Tear said.

Nodding Lan motioned for Spyro and Cynder to follow him and led them out of the infirmary. Once they were gone Tear threw off his bed sheet and got up to stretch. Walking over to the wash basin Tear splashed cold water across his face and sighed.

"How the mighty have fallen." Tear said to himself. Hearing the rustling of bed sheets and stiff groans Tear turned to see which of his friends had woke, to his surprise it was Martin, "Don't try to get up." Tear urged and rushed up to Martin's bed to make sure he wouldn't.

Martin looked around the room with blurry eyes, "Where am I?"

"In the infirmary, how the hell are you awake?" Tear asked.

Ignoring Tear's question Martin asked, "Who was just here? I thought I heard voices."

"Spyro, Cynder, and Lan left not to long ago." Tear answered.

"What about Jasmine?" Martin asked still groggy.

Shaking his head Tear reassured Martin, "Captain Brad was here earlier but not Jas. Why do you ask?"

"I could have sworn I heard her." Martin said as he sat up on his bed, Tear tried to help Martin up but Martin just waved him away with his hand. Gripping his stumped shoulder with his left hand, his only hand, a pained look crossed Martin's face, "Tear, thank you, for before, I would have surely died if you didn't do what you did. My life is indebted to you."

"How about you give me another eye and we call it even?" Tear asked light heartedly.

"Again Tear? I thought loosing one would be lesson learned for you." Martin replied jokingly.

Letting out a booming laugh, "What can I say, the eye you made me was so much better than my old one I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to get a matching pair."

Laughing back Martin replied, "Well then help me up, my apothecary equipment is in my room."

Supporting Martin as best as he could Tear led Martin out of the infirmary. Despite what Martin had been trough Tear was surprised at how little support Martin actually needed.

* * *

Grabbing her swinging fist out of the air Chad spoke firmly, "Jas there was nothing that any of use could do, how many time do I have to say that?"

"But you knew that this was going to happen didn't you?" Jas asked full of anger and sorrow.

Replying in a quiet voice Chad replied, "Keep your voice down, we are in a library after all." This was true, Jas had confronted Chad in the library lounge area which was not that far from the entry of the library.

"You think I care? Owen has been taken from me and you expect me to be quiet about it?" Jas asked.

Chad let go of Jas's fist and walked away form her, "He is my brother Jas, how do you think I feel about all of this?"

"I think you should be devastated by it, but judging from you utter detachment from everything that has happen I think you really don't care what happens to Owen!" Jas shouted.

"Wouldn't you rather know than think?" Chad turned to Jas and grabbed both of her hands and brought them up to either side of his face, although Jas pulled away from Chad, "It's ok, you can read my emotions if you want."

Hesitantly Jas brought her hands up to either side of Chad's face and touched Chad's mind, but only for an instant. The amount of pain welled up inside Chad sent Jas physically recoiling backwards. She had never felt such strong negative emotions before; torment, anger, betrayal, sorrow, dismay, grief, regret, dread, confusion, the list goes on and on. The intensity of Chad's lingering emotion sent Jas over the edge and she began weeping, her own pained feeling intensified by Chad's. Jas threw herself at Chad and hugged him, more for her own comfort than Chad's, "How can you bear it?"

"Have you ever been a onlooker to a car crash?" Chad asked, his voice calm and even, "It is kind of like that, you see the cars collide and all these feelings of helplessness rise up because you can't do a damn thing to stop it."

"But you can't just keep so much emotion bottled up!" Jas wailed.

Chad pat his hand on Jas's head ceasing her crying, "I have kept all of my feelings held back for the past fifteen years. I had to be strong all of my life, growing up there was no room for weakness. Your going to have be strong too if you want to walk out of this alive." Chad turned and walked over to sit in one of the many cushioned chairs in the room, "I can mourn my losses when this is over, until then I'll keep the cork on my bottle."

Wiping the tears from her eyes Jas, "It isn't health for someone to have that much…" Jas moved her hands in the air having trouble finding the right word, "that much in them."

Chad turned his head away from Jas, "Glad you could make it, now we just have to wait for the other three." Turning her head Jas saw Evan, Ty, and Kim enter the lounge, "No trouble finding this place I take it."

"We just followed the shouting." Ty answered, "You alright Jas?"

Jas opened her mouth but before she could say anything Chad said, "_She_ is fine." and then gave Jas a knowing look.

Kim walked up to Jas and wiped the tear stains from her face, "Are you sure your ok? Your eyes are red, have you been crying?"

Before answering Jas glanced at Chad who was chatting with Evan and Ty, "I just had to let off some steam, this whole turn of events is taking its toll on me."

"Same here, everything is just happening so fast." Kim agreed.

A sudden feeling of vertigo overcame Jas and she fell to her knees, Kim tried to catch her but fell to the floor with Jas. Looking past Kim Jas saw Evan and Ty on their hands and knees and Chad was bent over in his chair gripping his head. After a few minutes the feeling subsided and everyone slowly rose.

"What the hell was that?" Evan asked, "You all felt that right?"

Kim nodded, "Yeah, my legs got weak. Does anyone know what happened? Chad do you know?"

Chad leaned back in his chair, "For once I don't have the answer." he chuckled, "I haven't been able to say that for awhile."

Stumbling through the door came Spyro, Cynder, and Lan, "You all feel that just now?" Spyro asked.

Jas and the others nodded, "This can't be a coincidence." Lan declared making his way to a chair before letting his body fall into it, "There are spells that can replicate that feeling, but I didn't feel any magic when the feeling came about."

"Recent events aside I think I can start explaining myself, if that is alright with everyone." Chad offered. There was nodding around the room and Jas and Evan pulled up a chair while Kim, Ty, Spyro, and Cynder sat on the floor.

Letting out a held breath Chad asked himself, "Where to begin?"

"How about you start at the beginning." Cynder offered.

"Mine or yours?" Chad asked staring absently at the ceiling. Jerking forward Chad folded his hands and pressed them to his lips, "I think it would be less complicated if I skipped my past and went straight to _your _past."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Spyro asked.

Tapping his folded hands on his lips Chad thought long and hard about how to answer the question, the very complicated question. "Paradox." Chad said simply, "This whole matter is a paradox, I can't reveal anything that happened to me before I came to this world."

"What's a paradox?" Ty asked.

"I think in this case," Lan began, "events that wouldn't have happened unless they already did."

"Now you've lost _me_." Evan said.

Lan rubbed his hands together, "Imagine, if you will, that this while series of events, beginning with Owen and Jas first appearing in this world and most likely ending at some unknown point in the future, like a clock. The moment Owen and Jas entered this world the clock hands were at twelve o'clock. Now the hands moved like a normal clock does, this whole," Lan waved his hands in the air, "mess taking place during the time of O hundred hours to twelve hundred hours."

"O hundred? Twelve hundred? What kind of clock do you use on Earth?" Ty asked.

Evan leaned over and said to Ty, "Military time, midnight is O hundred hours, one o'clock is O one hundred hours, and so on. Twelve hundred hours is noon…"

"And O on hundred hours is one o'clock again." Ty interrupted confident he got the military time fully understood.

"No." Evan corrected, "One o'clock in the afternoon is thirteen hundred hours, military time is based on a twenty-four hour system."

"Well that doesn't make sense." Ty whined.

Lan cleared his throat, "Moving on. Like I said, we exist in the O hundred to twelve hundred time frame, eventually we will shift to the thirteen hundred to twenty-four hour time frame where we will "guide" our past selves through these events by means of notes…"

"…and me." Chad added, "My past is your future."

Lan laughed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Of course! That is the only way this could have panned out the way it did."

Chad nodded, "But you cannot tell me any of it, when you meet the younger me you must not breath a word of what has happened. I have explained to Owen what he must do."

"But Owen is…" Jas began and left the sentence unfinished, it hung in the air.

Standing Chad shook his head, "But he can't, Owen existed in my past before I came to this realm, none of this should have happened. Something changed, Owen promised me that this wouldn't happen."

Spyro, knowing the mystery of time as well as Lan, suggested, "Maybe Owen knew you would try and stop this if you knew the truth. Or maybe this is a alternate timeline caused by some event that failed to happen."

"When did you become the scholar?" Cynder asked.

Spyro blushed, "I read some of Volteer's books."

"Spyro does prove a good point." Lan agreed, "Time does not always have to play out exactly the same way."

"But how is that possible? Isn't time fixed?" Kim asked.

Lan nodded, "Major events are fixed…for the most part." Dissuading any further questions on the matter Lan waved his hands, "Minor things can change, you step with your left foot first instead of your right, as long as the event wraps up the same way that is all that really matters."

"But that is just the point." Chad said, "This wasn't suppose to happen, I was assured this would not happen."

"By who, Owen?" Cynder asked.

Chad leaned back in his chair contemplating what he should say next. "You all know about Fate don't you?" The emphasis on Fate, as if it were a name, struck a cord with everyone in the room. "He was the one that told me."

Tentatively Jas asked, "He…he spoke with you too?" Chad nodded.

Evan shifted uneasily as Lan leaned forward in his chair and asked, "Fate? As in _the_ Fate? As in the three manifestations of Fate?"

"You have had an encounters with them?" Spyro asked, remembering the cause of his uncertainty for his feeling towards Cynder.

"No." Lan said shacking his head, he didn't sound the least bit disappointed about it either, "I read about Fate and Destiny when I stumbled upon a tome in the University's Archmage Vaults."

"How the hell did you get in there?" Evan asked.

Lan snickered, "I either needed permission from an Archmage or the power of an Archmage in order enter." and Lan left the question unanswered, "How I got inside the vault is not important. What is important is that Fate spoke to each of you, which one was it? Watcher? Meddler? Keeper?"

"Keeper." everyone around the room answered, except for Ty and Kim who didn't know.

"Hmmm." Lan thought, "This is most troubling, the Keeper is not known for lying unless there is a very good reason."

"Well what did the tome say about Fate?" Cynder asked.

Lan leaned back and rubbed his forehead, "Not that much, even less about each individual manifestation, their it nothing about their creation, and only one page worth about what their purpose is."

"Which is?" Jas asked.

"To prevent the end of the world." Lan said bluntly.

After a long and morbid pause Chad clapped his hands, "Well if Fate said that none of this was suppose to happen I say we fix the problem." Chad stood up and walked to a nearby table with his back towards everyone.

"What are we suppose to do?" Ty asked, "Things obviously didn't go as they were suppose to, as hard as that is to believe, how can we possibly _fix _this?"

Chad turned around with a smile on his face, "Simple, we get Owen back."

* * *

**Well at first I got lazy and started putting this chapter off, and then when I decided to work on it the fans in my computer went kaput so then I had to wait two weeks for new fans to get here. I apologize for the wait but Spring break starts in a week so I am making it a plan to work on the next chapter during that time.**


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